Separated and Divided by Flames
by Fourth in Command Cixalea Jwan
Summary: They stared at eachother through the boundary of the dancing fire. She let one silver tear caress her cheek before saying, "I missed you." It was an understatement. "I know." All they could do was smile at each other separated and divided by flames. Discontinued.
1. Chapter 1

_Math. Is. Evil._ Anabelle thought harshly to herself. It was ninth period algebra one for freshmen. She had just graphed the first twenty quadratic equations and was confronted by the remaining twenty. _Please let them not have a b variable._ That would just make the problems ten times easier, but that wouldn't be challenging, now would it? Anabelle groaned and forced her pencil to keep writing. Anabelle didn't believe herself to be skilled in math, but, compared to everyone else in her class, she was a genius.

Algebra one was a freshmen course although most of the kids in her class were sophomores who cared none what-so-ever about school. Sitting to her left was Evan. He was a sophomore, but he did care enough to do his homework. Evan was funny and could keep a straight face while being funny. That made Anabelle laugh even harder. Anabelle had a small crush on Evan. Although, it remained small because she hardly knew him. They also had too many differences. Evan could talk to anyone while Anabelle hardly talked to anyone outside her closest friends.

"Can I use your calculator real fast?" Devin, a light haired freshman who sat in front of Anabelle asked.

"Sure." Anabelle handed him her calculator. Devin, on the other hand, was a freshman but never managed to finish his math homework. It just so happened he was working on it now because the teacher had allowed them to rest of the class period to work on homework. Devin was sometimes annoying, but he was a nice guy. Anabelle had just recently picked up that Devin liked her, but Anabelle could never imagine him as anything more then a friend.

As she was finishing up the last few problems, Evan was already done and seemed bored. Without warning, he leaned over and scribbled a Japanese word in the margin of her paper. Anabelle took a break, distracted, and examined the script. It took Anabelle a few seconds, but Anabelle knew it meant "no" in Japanese. She then wrote her name in Katagana (Japanese) next to Evan's script. Anabelle was not in a Japanese class, but she had a knack for foreign languages and her friend was teaching her. By this time, class was almost over and people had also abandoned work on their homework to socialize. Evan asked what the symbols meant.

"It's my name." She tried to sound not too proud of herself for it was not that great of an accomplishment. Devin, by this time, had heard Evan and Anabelle talk and decided to join the conversation.

"I can write my name in American!" Devin proudly announced. Evan gave a look that said, "Well, aren't we a smart one!" Then Devin proceeded to draw an Arby's sign because his last name was Arby. Evan got a great thrill out of teasing Devin and bumped his hand before Devin could complete the symbol making Devin's pencil slide around the margin of the paper. Devin tried to draw the symbol again, but, once again, was foiled by Evan. Anabelle started giggling as Devin quickly managed the logo before Evan could hit his hand again. Devin, now pleased with the drawing, sat back and waited for a response.

"It looks like a dragon." Evan pointed out as he referred to Devin's first attempt at the logo. It looked like a high arched dragon back with a long, angled neck, and a squiggly head. Evan once again reached over and wrote on Anabelle's paper. Evan removed his hand to reveal he had written "Raur," Next to the 'dragon's' mouth. Anabelle laughed. Anabelle then added wings, feet, and a tail to the dragon. Devin added fire billowing out the mouth. Evan added thorn like spikes from the dragon's tail to its head. Devin then picked up Anabelle's notebook up and shoved it in her face.

"Raur." Devin said, intending Anabelle to laugh. Anabelle simply pushed the notebook away from her face.

"No. That's not at all the sound a dragon makes! Dragons say, 'Raur!'" Evan teased as he growled fiercer then Devin's impression. Anabelle laughed. Devin looked slightly hurt that Anabelle was laughing at Evan and not himself.

"Are you sure?" Devin questioned jokingly. "I thought they said-"

"GRAAAAAWWWWRRR!!!!!" Anabelle and Evan looked at Devin in surprise. Devin looked just as shocked.

"That wasn't me…" Danny looked around along with the rest of the shocked class to try to find what the source of the growl came from. Then, after no one could seem to find the source, it came again, but it came much louder.

"GGGGGGRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWRR!" The room vibrated from the intensity of the sound. Then the roof started to shake and it collapsed in on the classroom hailing ventilation and concrete down on the students in large dangerous chunks. Several people's screams could be barely heard audible above the rumbling of the collapsing building. The three classmates exchanged on mutual glimpse of horror before a section of the falling roof shattered on top of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok. I would like to thank the two reviewers that, well, reviewed. Thank you so much! I am so excited that I've only posted for a few days and two people have already reviewed! YAY!!

Ok, now. Just an FYI, I am not Anabelle. I might wish I was, but I'm not. Sorry Second in Command Bob Curly.

To answer anyone's questions, I rated this T because it was written for that age. I don't think there will be anything bad in it. I don't ever cuss so no one has to worry about that.

Alright, enough of my fanfare! On with the main event!

Anabelle woke to blackness. She had to touch her open eyelids to make sure she really was awake. She must be in a cave of some sort. She noted the amount of echo-iness that followed whenever she moved. The cave ceiling was not tall and even Anabelle was forced to crouch. She had trouble walking and ended up stumbling many times in the veil of darkness. She seemed to be standing on many slick, smooth rocks. _How did I get here?_ She wondered, recalling the roof collapse and the growling. She felt her head. She was, fortunately, uninjured from falling debris. Although, what concerned her most was how to get out of this labyrinth of darkness. Anabelle was scared of the dark and not knowing where she was in the darkness was even more frightening. Hands out-stretched, Anabelle continued scrabbling away under the dark void not knowing if her efforts were actually leading her deeper into the cave.

After stumbling forward for what seemed a small eternity, Anabelle saw a spark of light pooling into the cave in the distance. Foolishly, she ran toward it, falling several times on the slick rocks, but she none-the-less ran toward it as if she were being chased by an invisible monster. The light got brighter and brighter and so did Anabelle's hope for escape. The light soon opened up to a portal through which she could see daylight and trees. Anabelle was about to climb out when something caught her eye resting on the cavern floor. It was a shiny stone.

Now that she had light to see, she could observe she was walking on thousands of these lustrous, multicolored stones. Anabelle was amazed at their beauty. Anabelle had a rock collection when she was younger, not that she was fifteen, she didn't have much use for her rock collection which remained in a drawer gathering dust. However, Anabelle couldn't help herself. They were some of the most beautiful things she had ever seen! She found they came in all sizes and colors. She eventually picked on that she deemed as her favorite. It was a metallic orange that had white veins of opal (or some other white stone) webbing in it. Intrigued to see it in better light, Anabelle climbed out through the hole where the light shown through and examined it in the sunlight.

The stone reflected the sun's rays and sparkled a brilliant, vibrant ginger hue. Anabelle did not know what type of stone it was, but she was now convinced it had to be valuable- perhaps gemstone? She slid it into her jeans pocket to hold on to. Anabelle was then taken at the marvel of her surroundings. She was in a dense forest that looked untouched by man and had trees that were the biggest she'd ever seen. Suddenly, although the sounds of birds were evident signs of life in the wood, Anabelle felt dreadfully alone.

"Hello?" She said softly to anyone who might be close. After nothing but chirping birds answered her call, she repeated the question a bit louder. "Hello!" No human voices seemed to respond. "Helloooooo!" She shouted, her voice getting panicky.

"Hello?" Anabelle heard a far away voice answer her plead.

"Is someone there?!" She called again, hoping to reach the other voice.

"Who're you?" The voice sounded less distant but still out of reach for not shouting.

"Anabelle Wellson! Who're you?" Anabelle started walking toward where she thought the voice was coming from, but forced herself to stop until she knew who this stranger was.

"Evan Smith!"

"Evan?!" Anabelle called in recognition. She took off running towards where she believed Evan's voice was coming from. "Where are you?" She asked while searching wildly through the woods as she ran.

"I'm in the middle of a strange forest next to some really big trees." The voice sounded close. Anabelle was surprised Evan could make a joke about being lost in a mysterious wood with not explanation of how or why they were brought here. Soon, she found Evan and was immediately flooded with relief from just simply not being alone.

"We gotta get out of this forest somehow." Anabelle stated obviously.

"Look. Footprints. A village or somethin' close to it must be near by." Anabelle saw where Evan was tracing the outline of a boot-print. Evan started following the prints and Anabelle started following Evan. She even, sometimes, helped him when the tracks doubled-back or looped over each other. They mostly traveled in silence since both weren't really accustomed to having to spend more then a class period together. With Evan focused on following the prints, it was Anabelle who spotted the smoke.

"Look! That must be a fire. Someone's close." Following the prints a little faster because they knew where they were headed how, they found the source of the fire. They were expecting a small camp site, possibly even a back yard barbeque, but, instead, they happened upon a _dragon_! A magnificent, real-life, blue-scaled dragon!

Ok, well that was the second chapter. I will try to update once a week if I can. School can get in the way easily. Please review and tell me what you think. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, I just realized when reading through my last couple chapters that I haven't put a disclaimer. Oops. To clear things up: I do not own the Inheritance Cycle. I do own my OCs: Anabelle, Devin, and Evan. Heehee. Those last two names rhymed! I didn't notice that before… Anyway, I would like to thank my reviewers; Hollyleaf9, Second in Command Bob Curly, God-of-goats-loves-books, and hpswst101! I would also like to show my appreciation to Second in Command Bob Curly, Hollyleaf9, and Armed and Fabulous for fav-ing my story! I love your encouraging words and hope you continue reading and reviewing! You make my writing this worthwhile! Just an FYI: the italics within quotations mean someone says the quote with their mind. So, on with the show. **

Eragon sat in the clearing that he had constructed in the brambles with Saphira, his dragon, and Brom. As usual, questions raced through Eragon's mind as all this _new_ came crashing down on him. One minute he was a normal farm boy living with his Uncle Garrow in the small city in Palancar Valley; the next, he was chasing down his Uncle's murderers, filthy beasts called the Ra'zac, with the help of a dragon that hatched out of an egg that by chance appeared to him. He felt overwhelmed to say the least. As Eragon was staring into the fire, he sensed Saphira stiffen. Before he could ask her why, the blue-scaled dragon touched his mind through the telepathic link that connected them as dragon and Rider and said,

"_We are being watched_." Eragon immediately assumed the worst. His hands instinctively flew to his bow and arrows, but he hesitated in picking them up. He remembered the Rider's sword that Brom, the "story teller" of his village showed to him. He chose Zar'roc, the Rider's sword, and quietly unsheathed it to reveal its red blade. Brom had caught on to what was happening and strung Eragon's bow in anticipation of a fight. Although Eragon had no experience handling a sword, he was sure it couldn't be that hard to hack at someone, and, at the very least, it would be intimidating. This was also without the fact he had a _dragon_ with him. Eragon stealthfully tip-toed forward with Saphira following as far as the pointed, bramble barrier would allow her bulk. Eragon was already trying to remember the Ra'zac's abilities and where the best spot to inflict the most pain would be. Vengeance surged through him, scaring him a little at its intensity. He wanted the Ra'zac to die as slow death, just like his uncle. Eragon heard movement and lightly stepped around a tree. Summoning his courage he leaped around the corner!

"Haaa!" Eragon shouted as he swung his sword blindly. Saphira roared as she flew overhead the scene.

"Stop! Eragon! Open your eyes!" Brom shouted. Eragon did as he was told and was shocked by what he saw. Inches away from Zar'roc's blood red tip was a girl backed up against a tree, crumpled in a ball, staring at the sword with eyes as wide as apples. Eragon lowered his sword.

"Who are you!" Eragon shouted at the short haired brunette. He was a little guilty about threatening an obviously defenseless person, but he needed to be sure she didn't work for the evil people who ruled the Empire in which he lived.

"A-anabelle." She almost whimpered never taking her eyes off Zar'roc.

"_Here is another one_." Saphira said while backing a boy about Eragon's age into view.

"Why are you here!" Eragon hollered at the boy. The red-headed boy flashed a look of recognition upon seeing Saphira and Zar'roc, but didn't reply.

"Tell me!" Eragon thrust his sword at the boy.

"We don't know." He answered quickly, ignoring the sword and directing his attention to Eragon.

"Is your name, by chance, Eragon?" The boy asked. Eragon was shocked, but tried not to let his face expose it.

"Do you, by chance, work for the Empire?" Eragon snapped back which was out of character for him, but he needed answers.

"What is your name?" The redhead turned to Saphira. Eragon was surprised the boy thought of Saphira as an intelligent being. Most others thought she was no smarter than a common plow horse.

"_Can he talk to you_?" Eragon asked Saphira.

"_No. He's just a normal human from what I can tell, and the girl is a standard human as well_." Eragon breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't up against much.

"How do you know me!" Eragon pointed Zar'roc closer to the pale skinned boy. He didn't jump but he did back up a few paces to regain his composure.

"I'm Evan. No, I don't work for the Empire, and I've heard of you. I can't tell you who from. You wouldn't believe me." Eragon was then left with the question of trust.

"_Saphira_?"

"_I'm not sure little one. The boy is brave for not fearing you, but I don't believe he intends to do us harm. He would have already tried. I would also think that the Empire wouldn't send hatchlings after a Rider and dragon_." Eragon put Zar'roc in its compatible red sheath then turned to Brom.

"Well, should we trust them?" Brom scratched his beard.

"They seem honest in my opinion. It would be wise, however, for a young, _wanted_ Rider to accept allies whenever possible."

"Are you sure? Why does Evan seem to play that he is keeping secrets?"

"Many times, secrets are kept for valid reasons." With this information gathered, Eragon held a short trial within himself then walked over to Evan and Anabelle.

"You can journey with us if you want, but you must not breathe a word of us to any soul."

"Of course." Evan answered.

"We will eventually be chased by the Empire, and they will capture you if they capture us."

"Then let's not get captured?" The redhead joked. Eragon was still suspicious, but led both of them back to camp. It was a cramped fit, but they all managed to fit. The girl, Anabelle, stayed reserved and kept to herself. She stayed away from everyone, including the boy she came with.

**I know that seems like I am cutting the scene off abruptly, but there wasn't a really good stopping place. Just an update on how I am writing my story: I am up to page 152 and have a slight case of writers' block. It's more of writers' laziness. Just to put that into perspective, I stopped typing this chapter at page 17. There's a lot more to go. ******** Please continue to read and review! Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it took so long to update. I had a lot of homework and other activities to deal with. Sorry, if the story seems a little slow. It will get better! I promise! I would like to thank hermione112 and Hollyleaf9 for reviewing my story! I just can't express how happy it makes me that people read my story! ******

**Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon, Eldest, or Brisingr. I do own my characters Anabelle, Devin, and Evan. **

Anabelle stayed as far away from everyone as possible. She was very on edge and confused. The source of the confusion was Evan. How did he know them? What was going on! Anabelle felt alone and lost more than ever now. She overheard Eragon starting conversation with Evan. He was prying for answers such as: where they lived and why were they here in the middle of the mountain range called the Spine.

"We live in a large village south of Indianapolis, Indiana. We don't know how we were brought here." Eragon looked unconvinced.

"Where's Indiana?"

"In another country far away." Evan said through a mouthful of stew.

"That explains the odd clothes, names, and accent."Anabelle heard Eragon murmur. Anabelle was soon forced closer to the fire because her light jacket did not provide much warmth now that the stars were beginning to shine. Once everyone had eaten their fill, everyone went to sleep. Eragon had his dragon curl around him for the night. Evan slept on one side of the fire and Brom slept on the opposite side. Anabelle laid on her back staring up at the foreign constellations distant the fire. Anabelle shivered as a cool breeze rushed over her. She curled up with her hands over her knees and tried to get warmer without getting any closer to the fire. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get comfortable or warm. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the orange stone. It was warm, Anabelle assumed, from her own body heat, but the warmth did not fade once she held it out to the cold air.

_Weird_. Anabelle thought to herself. On a whim, she curled around it and hoped it would provide her with warmth. To her surprise, it did. Soon, Anabelle found she fell asleep for when she woke it was morning.

Anabelle had noticed she was the second one up once she heard Brom putting out the fire. Silently thanking the orange stone for keeping her warm, she placed it back in her jeans pocket for safe-keeping. Anabelle looked around the campsite, looking for ways to be useful. She hated it when she couldn't help in some way no matter the situation. Taking a courageous leap out of her comfort zone, she walked up to Brom and asked how she might become useful. It was the third day since their arrival here in Alagaesia, as she was informed it was called. Yesterday, Eragon and Brom made a saddle for Saphira the dragon. Apparently, Eragon could ride Saphira and was thus called a Rider. He briefly explained how he found Saphira's egg, how his uncle had been murdered by evil creatures called the Ra'zac, and how Eragon was tracking them for revenge. Anabelle's morals told her that revenge was wrong though she knew that if she were in Eragon's position, she would not be in the mood for someone to be criticizing her about what was right and wrong now.

_Maybe later_. Anabelle thought. Brom seemed to mull over Anabelle's request and asked that she'd wake the boys. Anabelle knew that the boys were deep sleepers and it took them a while to get out of "zombie" mode. She decided to wake Evan first. She knelt down self-consciously and lightly shook Evan.

"Wake up!" She whispered in Evan's ear. He groaned and slowly pealed one big, brown eye open. Anabelle then went to go wake Eragon. He slept underneath Saphira's giant wing. At first Anabelle was afraid to disturb the sleeping dragon. It was similar to how you should let sleeping dogs lie only Saphira could probably _eat_ whoever woke her. Smoke streamed out of the sapphire dragon's nostrils. Then, giving great faith that Anabelle and Saphira were friends, Anabelle lifted part of Saphira's wing to wake Eragon. It was heavier then Anabelle expected it to be. It was a thick membrane reinforced by a hard bone outline where the wing folded. She could feel Saphira rustle from the touch and Anabelle jumped. The dragon swerved her mighty head around and quickly observed who it was. After recognizing it was Anabelle, Saphira's eyes seemed to relax. Anabelle was awestruck by the dragon's understanding gaze she could hardly make out the words,

"Time to get up."

That day, after they had dismantled the makeshift camp, the group headed to a town called Therinsford. Saphira flew while they walked. Anabelle and Evan stared in amazement. It was one thing to _see_ a dragon, but to _watch it fly_ was a completely different ordeal. Brom had entertained the travel by telling more about dragons. He described how the baby dragons wait until the right time or (in a Rider's case) the right person came, to hatch. This fascinated Anabelle. The banter of questions and answers followed between Brom and Eragon continued. Eragon said he had mistaken Saphira's dragon egg with a _stone_. Anabelle got chills. She didn't want to check with the others looking, for she would be supremely embarrassed if she was wrong, but she believed the rock she found in the cave was actually _a dragon egg_! That would explain why the rock seemed to produce its own heat. There was a baby dragon inside of it!

When they stopped for the night, Anabelle felt a pang of homesickness and her back ached from sleeping on the hard ground. She did not complain though. Brom had decided to teach Eragon how to fight with a wooden sword. Evan watched enthusiastically, frequently asking Brom if he could be trained as well. Brom remained undecided on the matter and concentrated on critiquing Eragon. While the boys were distracted with the fencing, Anabelle checked her pockets for the stone. She stared at its ginger hue. "Are you a dragon?"

**Ok. I'm trying not to go too much into the history/background of the Inheritance Cycle to prevent my story from slowing. If you want to know what's going on in greater detail, you should read the story for yourself. Thank you again all who reviewed! ******** x1000! Please continue to review and tell me what you think! **


	5. Chapter 5

Anabelle had to get her questions about the dragon egg resolved. After Eragon surrendered to Brom in a sparring session, she reluctantly approached Brom.

"Um...you know how Eragon was saying that stuff about the dragon eggs?" Brom's eyebrows drew together with concern.

"Is this a dragon egg?" She held the small, orange egg out to Brom. Brom's eyes widened with shock and his jaw became slack. This attracted Evan and Eragon's immediate attention.

"It_ is_ a dragon egg...where did you find it!" Brom demanded. The fierceness of Brom's statement scared Anabelle and she stepped back a few paces.

"In a cave in the mountains." She explained timidly, hoping she wasn't in trouble.

"There were _thousands_! I thought they were just pretty gemstones-"

"Thousands! Do you realize what this _means_?!" Brom exclaimed. Anabelle was not sure whether the result of her action was really good or really bad.

"Can I see the egg?" Eragon asked. Evan passed the orange egg to the Rider who examined it carefully.

"Um... are they supposed to be warm?" Anabelle asked.

"I think so. Saphira's egg was." Eragon answered while inspecting the egg.

"What now?"

"We keep it safe and I'll take it to where is can be out of the Empire's hands after Eragon finishes his training." Brom said vaguely.

"We're close to Therinsford." Eragon observed as columns of smoke rose from the chimneys of the town. Brom nodded.

"Saphira should meet us on the other side of Therinsford with one of you."

"Why can't we all go?" Eragon was the first to object, as always.

"Evan and Anabelle's foreign clothes would arouse suspicion. I have a cloak one of them could wear, but only one. I will see if I can buy another cloak, but I doubt I will have the money after buying three horses."

"But there are four of us! Do you expect me to ride Saphira the whole time? I nearly got skinned from riding her last time!" Eragon was a sea of questions.

"It's ridiculous to try to maintain four horses on a long journey. Someone is going to have to share a seat, but you will have to start getting use to riding your dragon, Eragon." Brom, once again, made since of his words.

"Who will be going with you?" Eragon asked.

"Eragon and Anabelle can go with you. I'll ride with Saphira." Evan offered.

"Here's the cloak." Brom said while tossing the cloak to Anabelle.

"Evan, you better get going." And with a partially concealed smile, Evan ran over to wear Saphira was sitting. With almost a snort of disapproval, she let Evan on. It was obvious that she wanted Eragon to ride her, not Evan, but she took off and quickly disappeared as a dot in the sky. Anabelle, Brom, and Eragon approached Therinsford, but they were stopped by a thick, ugly man demanding a bridge toll. Anabelle had no idea about the value of the currency in Alagaesia, but, judging by Eragon's reaction, five crowns was a lot of money to ask for to cross a bridge. Brom paid the man without hesitation. Eragon protested, what a surprises. Then Brom revealed he had stolen the money from the man's bag without him noticing.

"You _stole_ from him!" All Anabelle got in return to her outburst was a mischievous smile and a hush to keep quiet. Once they had found the stable, Brom started negotiating for three long-distance horses. Handing the tan horse to Eragon, the darker horse to Anabelle, and keeping the very expensive Snowfire's reigns to himself, Brom instructed them to wait for him outside Therinsford. They did as they were told. Once Brom returned, he brought news that Eragon's uncle's murderers had passed this way and bought horses too. As they mounted the horses, they passed a watch tower atop a black cliff of stone. It looked a perfect match to the ominous surroundings and atmosphere. Brom explained how the outpost was a refuge for the Riders of old. Then Galbatorix destroyed the last Rider, the leader, here and doomed the place to a shadowy remembrance of what took place. Anabelle was still picking up on things, but thought that if she were a Rider, this would be an awful place to die. Once they were passed the creepy outpost, Eragon pointed out Saphira flying overhead. Ahead of them stood a vast plain. Its size took her like when she saw the ocean. She'd only seen it three times.

"How far across?" Eragon asked, just as awestruck as Anabelle.

"Two days to a fortnight depending on where we go. We have to camp here for the night." Brom then preceded dismounting the horse and constructing the camp.

"You should name your horse." Brom suggested. Eragon named his horse after his grandpa, Cadoc. Copying Eragon, Anabelle named her horse Bob because it was her grandpa's name. Once Saphira landed, Evan dismounted with a supremely happy glow. It struck Anabelle as funny because she never thought of Evan as the type of person who would be that way. Evan was about as enthusiastic as a three year old about getting to fly with Saphira. Anabelle was happy because Evan's enthusiasm tickled her, but it also made her smile because he was _talking_ to her. She still had a small crush on him and it made her heart flutter for him to be talking so casually to her. After Evan was finished describing his experience, Anabelle tried to get answers from him.

"How did you know Eragon's name?" Evan looked away and sighed.

"I just knew, ok? You wouldn't believe me if I told you anything else. Trust me; you'd think I was crazy." Anabelle knew Evan was making up excuses, but she also know that Evan was not going to trust her with the truth even if she did keep asking.

"Fine..." Anabelle turned away, annoyed. Evan looked at her turned face. Evan sighed again and tried to change the subject.

"Can I see that dragon egg?"

"Sure." Anabelle handed him the egg without looking at him. Evan ran a self conscious hand through his short, red hair. Evan couldn't stand awkward silences. Trying to distract himself, he flipped the orange egg over in his hand and traced his fingers over the veins of white, trying to imagine what the tiny dragon looked like. Finally, Evan couldn't stand it anymore. Putting the egg in his jeans pocket, Evan said,

"You should be sure to ride with Saphira at some point. It's unlike anything else! Roller coasters don't even come close!" Evan said.

"I'd imagine so." Anabelle showed not hint of being angry in her voice, but Evan saw her expression contradicted it. She walked up and claimed a spot by the fire, lay down, and closed her eyes. Following her, Evan also went by the fire, but lay down on the opposite side. His head and hers separated and divided by flames.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry. I forgot to write a disclaimer at the beginning of my last chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing about Eragon. I do own everything about my OCs. **

**Yay! Thank you for all the reviews and support for my story! You have no idea how grateful it makes me feel! I would like to thank those who reviewed: xt-291 for reviewing chapter 4 and Hollyleaf9 for reviewing both chapter 4 and 5! I'm so grateful for the variety of reviewers! Thank you once again for those who reviewed and/or fav-ed my story! **

That morning Evan was awoken by a vibration in his pocket. It was almost dawn and Saphira was on watch. The vibration came once again. Groggily trying to remember if he put his cell phone there Evan stopped himself. How could he receive calls in a completely different world? It was one of Evan's secret-but-not-important goals in life to go to a place where he got no signal from Verizon and scream,

"Can you hear me _now_? Ha! In your face!" Evan was sure he would have completed his goal, if, however, he had _brought_ his phone at all! Now officially freaking out, Evan dug in his pocket and pulled out Anabelle's orange dragon egg.

"Darn it!" Evan cursed under his breath as he dropped the egg with a start as it vibrated once more.

"This can_n__ot_ be happening!" Evan urged as the egg started to crack. A peep erupted from it and pierced the shy quiet of the morning which woke everyone. The cry blasted once again and the egg shell divided even more.

"The egg! Is it hatching?" Eragon exclaimed. A long, final squeak splintered from the egg and the egg finally shattered. A small orange head poked out of the egg shards.

"Evan! You've been chosen to be a Rider!"

"No, I'm not! This doesn't even make any sense!"Evan denied.

"The dragon chooses the Rider. Not the other way around, Evan." Brom said. Evan wanted to hit him.

"It's Anabelle's! She's been in contact with it the most!"

"But it hatched when I gave it to you." Anabelle said in awe.

"How do you know I'm supposed to be a Rider! What if this isn't supposed to happen?"

"Hu?" Anabelle said suspiciously. Evan backed away from the baby dragon. The tiny dragon clumsily started wiggling out of the shards and following Evan. Cornering Evan between Saphira and itself, the hatchling padded right up to Evan. It sat down and looked into Evan's eyes expectantly. Evan tried to back up more, but didn't get anywhere. The baby dragon then angled its tapered dragon ears down and melted Evan with its saddened gaze. Evan could no longer deny the helpless dragon. He reluctantly placed his hand on the dragon's head. Evan cried out as a lightning-like pain burst up his forearm from the dragon. Evan withered until the pain ebbed away. He found himself staring up at the newborn that had a supremely happy look.

"Fine." Evan surrendered fearing how this would impact this world's timeline. He picked up the dragon and held it out at arm's length, unsure of how to handle the baby. The infant giggled slurred, bubbly, dragon noises and reached out for Evan with its tiny arms. Anabelle tried to stifle her laughter at Evan's confused/unsure expression. Evan shot her a look and she managed to keep her laughter to herself.

Although, all this new had occurred, they had to keep pressing on if they were to catch the Ra'zac. After they had dismounted the camp, the decision of who was the unlucky person that had to ride double was Anabelle.

"Sorry Anabelle you have to ride with Evan."

"What? Why does she have to ride with me?" Evan objected.

"Bob is the biggest horse." Evan frowned mostly because it made him feel self conscious. Anabelle was not pleased to say the least, but did not complain. Saphira flew above them as they made their way across the plain. Anabelle held the little dragon because Evan couldn't direct the horse and hold a needy dragon at the same time. It wasn't like holding the little thing was torture or anything. The newborn was the cutest little thing in the world according to Anabelle. She coddled it like a kitten between her arms and half expected it to start purring. It loved to chew on Anabelle's jacket draw-string, and it didn't squirm all that much. Eragon talked to Evan a lot as he gave Evan advice on how to care for his new dragon. They kept talking until the wind on the plain picked up so much that they couldn't hear each other. Once they found the Ra'zac's tracks again, Brom discovered they must be headed for Yazuac, a small village four days away. The wing howled relentlessly against them until the third day. The ability to hear anything made the moral of the tiny group go up. Suddenly, off in the distance, they saw the storm. It frightened Anabelle slightly. She hated the loud noise of thunder and, being the only tall things on the plain, made her recall the lessons from her fifth grade science about how the negatively charged lightning struck the tallest things in order to get to the positively charged ground. The storm had not broken even when they first entered its shadows. The words "calm before the storm" echoed relentlessly through Evan's mind. It was then the saw the wind. Anabelle quickly concluded that if you _saw_ the wind, you must be in trouble. It was rippling towards them and Anabelle wrapped one arm tightly around the infant dragon that hunkered down, sensing the danger. The other remained poised to wrap around Evan's waist. She refused to do so before hand because it, frankly, creeped her out, but if it would keep her from becoming the cow spinning in the tornado, forget embarrassment. Everyone else also took preparatory poses. Suddenly, everyone had the same thought.

"Saphira!" Saphira wasn't fast enough though. The hurricane-force winds nearly knocked Anabelle out of the saddle. She had a death grip on Evan and ducked behind him to protect herself and the dragon. The baby dragon dug its claws into Anabelle's jeans and skin beneath them. Anabelle winced from the pain but tried to ignore it. Eragon turned Cadoc around and raced to help his dragon. Evan somehow wrenched out of Anabelle's grip (which Anabelle deemed as physically impossible) and leapt out of the saddle crying,

"I have to help Eragon!" Anabelle then swung her other arm around the dragon to avoid it being ripped out of her grip and flattened herself in the saddle, hanging on with her legs. Squinting her eyes from the storm, she couldn't see if the guys were okay. After a while, she heard from Brom that Saphira was fine. Good, they weren't injured. Next, the rain swept over them. Along with it, came the lightning and thunder. Anabelle whimpered into the saddle when the lightning flashed wondering if she would be struck next. She cried out as the thunder rolled and was reminded of when she was little. Her brother and she would throw blankets and sheets over the piano they had and would create a fort underneath it with her brother. They would stay there, hiding from the storm they were already sheltered from in the house. She wished she had that luxury now. The storm slowly subsided throughout the rest of the day. Once it finally passed, the glow of the sun felt a heavenly blessing to them. They found a small ditch and camped there in case the wind picked up again. Everyone was too tired to do anything but sleep. So they did.

Before dusk, they reached Yazuac.

"One of you will have to go with Saphira again and wait ahead." Brom stated.

"I'll go with Eragon." Anabelle offered.

"No!" Evan shouted. Everyone looked at him suspiciously.

"I-I want to go this time." Evan quickly stammered.

"You should take care of your dragon. Go with Saphira, Evan. By the way, you should think of a name for her while you're waiting." Brom instructed. Evan couldn't come up with a good argument and reluctantly agreed. Once they stopped for Evan to ride Saphira, he pulled Anabelle aside.

"If anything should happen while you're in Yazuac, stay close to Eragon." Anabelle was confused and Evan couldn't meet her eyes.

"Why?" "I told you.

"You'd think I was insane. Just do what Eragon and Brom tell you to do, ok?" Evan then snatched his dragon and hopped onto Saphira before Anabelle could protest further. Evan's answers not satisfying her, Anabelle still mounted the horse and they rode toward Yazuac.

"I don't hear anything. No kids playing. No adults arguing. Not even dogs barking." Eragon observed as they approached Yazuac.

"The Ra'zac might have set up an ambush. Let's enter from the side." Anabelle now wearing the dark cloak Brom gave her, the three riders entered the ominously silent town.

"It's quiet. Too quiet." Anabelle quote as a creepy feeling sunk over her.

"_If I see anything bad, I stay close to Eragon." _She repeated Evan's instructions in her head. As they rounded a corner into the town square, Eragon swore. He began with the words that started with "A" and worked his way through the whole alphabet, listing all the colorful words he knew, cursing whoever did this. There, piled high in the center, was the town's population. Dead. All were thrown on top of each other in a mass grave. They were piled in a bloody mass of murdered souls with spears and arrows still sticking out from where they were lodged, and, yet, the murders were nowhere to be found. Eragon threw up when he got to the "S's". Anabelle raised a hand to her mouth and had to remind herself to breathe.

"Do you two want to wait for me outside Yazuac?" Brom offered. Eragon declined Brom's offer as well as Anabelle. Brom jumped off of Snowfire and examined a track.

"The Ra'zac did come through here, but the Urgals did this."

"Urgals? What are-" Suddenly Brom jumped back in his saddle and yelled,

"Ride! The Urgals are still here!" Anabelle's heart started to leap out of her chest. She whipped Bob around and sped towards the exit behind Eragon. Without warning, both Anabelle and Eragon were knocked out of their saddles with one, mighty strike. Towering above them was a huge monster that reminded Anabelle of a gargoyle. It carried a sword and glared hungrily at them through its red, monster eyes.

"Run, fools! Run!" Brom shouted as he was attacked by a second Urgal with an axe! They both leapt up and ran for their lives. Anabelle kept up pace with Eragon, too afraid to imagine what would happen if she would fall behind. Eragon didn't have to outrun the Urgal. He just had to outrun Anabelle. Eragon strung an arrow and stopped to fire it.

"Are you crazy?!" Anabelle shouted as she skidded to a stop, reminded of Eragon's instruction. She spun around and looked just in time to see the Urgal tackle Eragon. Eragon broke free of the tussle and bolted away, Anabelle right on his heels. Off in the distance, Anabelle could see the Urgal armed with the axe was getting the advantage in fighting Brom, and she saw Brom's arm was dripping with blood. Eragon shouted in protest as the Urgal raised his axe for the kill. Eragon sped ahead of Anabelle, leaving her gasping for breath but still running. Eragon tackled the Urgal and quickly leapt up to keep running. Anabelle stuck to Eragon like glue despite the fact that adrenaline was the only thing that kept her going. Now both Urgals were chasing them! Eragon led Anabelle around a corner and down an ally. It was a dead end. The Urgals cornered them in and Anabelle knew they had to do something quick, or it was over. Suddenly, Eragon strung an arrow. This was not the miracle that Anabelle had in mind. It came more with claws and scales. Never the less, Eragon pulled back on the string and released it, crying,

"Brisingr!" Anabelle recognized that word from Brom's alphabet of swear words. There was a flash of light. Now the ordinary arrow was burning with a blue flame attached to it! It was something Anabelle would expect out of a Zelda video game or something. The arrow buried itself inside one of the Urgal's harry heads. The arrow then exploded, killing the Urgal. A blue shock wave resonated from what remained of the first Urgal's head and killed the second. The wave continued to expand, but it passed through Eragon and Anabelle with no harm done to them. Eragon, without warning, passed out next to Anabelle leaving her standing, but awestruck.

**I decided to make this chapter really long because I didn't like how short my other chapters were. I don't know if it was too much at one time or if it was better longer. Please let me know in a review! I don't know why there are random lines in the middle of the story. I can't figure out how to get rid of them. (Shrugs) Oh well. Please read and review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, everyone! Sorry I haven't updated for so long. I had spring break and I usually type this at school so here's a super long chapter to make it up! Thank you to Hollyleaf9, xt-291, and 0xy1d10t for reviewing my last chapter! I can't tell you how great it makes me feel when people review my story! I, honestly, didn't expect a lot of people to review this so thank you, thank you, thank you for proving me wrong!!! Ok so here it is!**

Once Anabelle was over the initial shock (which was enough time for Eragon to regain consciousness), she helped Eragon to his feet and helped him over to Cadoc. Next their attention turned to bandaging up Brom. Sliding him out of his saddle, Eragon and Anabelle managed to get him on the ground and bandage him. Anabelle had to do most of the lifting because Eragon was too weak. Eragon was surprised how strong Anabelle was. Without warning, Saphira dropped from the sky. She looked boiling mad and Anabelle assumed Eragon must have been talking to her because she calmed instantly. Evan slid down off Saphira and rushed over to where Brom was.

"Is he okay? Are you okay?" Evan asked frantically.

"We mended Brom's wounds. I'm fine, but only because I followed your advice." Evan breathed a partially concealed sigh of relief.

"Did you know-"

"You got to help me put Brom back in Snowfire's saddle." Evan cut her off quickly. Anabelle helped, but she had not intention of just letting this coincidence go. After tying Snowfire to Cadoc and finding Bob, they set off in a hurry incase more Urgals showed up. After replenishing their water canteens, Saphira found a decently obscured place to stay. Anabelle still couldn't grasp the concept of the bond that Rider's had with their dragons. They had a telepathic/empathic link of some sort, and Anabelle couldn't help but be curious about it.

"Eragon, how can you talk with Saphira?"

"With my mind. We were connected from the moment that she hatched... somehow."

"Are you the only one who can talk to her?"

"No. Evan and Brom can"

"So it's not just a Rider thing? I might be able to learn?"

"Brom said it's a talent usually Riders only possess, but Brom learned it and he's not a Rider."

"So normal people, like me, could learn?"

"I couldn't see why not."

"Awesome!" Anabelle was excited by the challenge.

"I'll have to ask Brom to teach me when he's better." Anabelle said excitedly. She heard Evan stifle a laugh. Anabelle crossed her arms defiantly.

"What?" Evan smiled mischievously.

"Nothing..."

"Sass off, Evan!" Anabelle said as-a-matter-of-factly. Evan doubled over laughing. Anabelle hadn't heard his laugh too much in class mostly he just smiled. His laugh was low, like his voice, but it didn't rumble. It sounded like a little kid laugh, just deeper.

"'Sass off'? What was _that_?" Evan continued laughing to himself.

"It means 'step off'. Do you have a problem with that phrase?"

"No. It's just really..." Evan laughed some more. It tickled Anabelle to be able to make Evan laugh. Usually it was the other way around.

Once they reached the camp site, there was a fire already blazing. After they had eaten and Brom began to feel better, Brom began to explain how magic was used and its rules because now that Eragon figured out how to use magic back in Yazuac, the time to train the Riders in it was now. Anabelle became slightly disturbed that Riders could use magic. Something in her gut told her magic was wrong. She wouldn't even read the Harry Potter series. Eragon and Evan listened intently to Brom's instruction on the ancient language and the rules of magic. The ancient language, Brom explained, was the language of magic spells and commands and also the language in which you cannot lie. Somehow Anabelle couldn't grasp that. Anabelle listened slightly; saving away the information for when she might have to escape an opponent who could manipulate magic.

Because Evan was so absorbed in Brom's teachings, the infant dragon that Evan named Ryla was left in her care. Ryla had grown bigger and stronger everyday. Ryla was now about as long as Anabelle's leg. She weighed too much to be held anymore and was beginning to learn how to fly. Her top air time was about two minuets before she would fall to the ground only to try again. Anabelle noticed Ryla had a smart alec personality. Anabelle use to sing to her when she looked tired. Now Ryla would sing with her. She would squawk and screech until Anabelle was forced to cover her ears. Anabelle gave up on singing when once she began to sing, Ryla would cover _her_ ears.

That night, Anabelle was on watch. She caught herself spacing out a little, but since Brom was teaching the boys magic, he was not able to teach her how to talk to the dragons. So Anabelle decided to teach herself. She kept in mind that if Abraham Lincoln was able to teach himself the complicated English language, that Anabelle could learn telepathy. Anabelle tried many methods. Simply looking at Saphira and Ryla and thinking the words didn't work. Tying to imagine the dragon in her head and talking to it didn't work either. Then she wondered if she was being too picky. Maybe dragons were hard to communicate with and other animals such as bird and squirrels were easier? After retrying the methods for different animals, she wondered if she was still being too narrow minded. Maybe the animals had to _want_ to talk to her? If that was the case, she had to find the willing ones. It was dark and most of the animals were not out or they were hidden in darkness. Frustrated, she tried to come up with other solutions. Maybe, animals were trying to talk to her and all she had to do was open her mind and _listen_? She tried to expand her mind, open it to any though or feeling that came to her.

"_Perhaps the fire is scaring them away?"_ She tried to open her mind even more, to the point where her consciousness seemed to 'drift' around inside her mind. It seemed to bounce off boundaries of her mind until it fell though a 'trap door.' It was like a pinball machine. Her consciousness bounced around, deflecting off obstacles until it fell through the space between the two hand-operated arms and the game was over. Only, in this case, she won. She could feel the other consciousnesses around her. It was like the sensation of someone walking behind you and your hair stands up on the back of your neck. You know that the person is behind you, but you can't see them. Or like when you are in a haunted house, you know someone is hiding in the room waiting to scare you, but you just don't know where. She felt so open and connected with the world. A sort of out-of-body experience type of thrill. She knew there was an owl that was confirming that it saw a mouse below. There was a squirrel that was creeping cautiously on the forest floor. But their presences weren't as impressive at all when compared to when she touched the dragons' minds. They had larger and much more complex consciousnesses that were very mysterious. Ryla thought little but Anabelle assumed that was because she was sleeping. Anabelle loved this freedom, and she searched out other minds that she could feel. Anabelle was so happy with herself. She figured out how to tap into others' minds, like Riders, without any help from anyone! She discovered it purely from the fact that she knew it could be done! Anabelle then came across another complex mind, but she barely touched it before it was blocked by a barrier of some sort. A shield lay around the being's mind and confused Anabelle. She didn't consider the fact that people could _block_ her. She recoiled back into herself and flushed from embarrassment. She had forgotten what she was doing. She was invading people's private thoughts and sanctuary. What she did was probably very rude. She woke Eragon for the next shift of watch. She fell asleep quickly, excited for tomorrow. She couldn't wait to show the guys her new powers.

"Hey, Brom?"

"What." Brom said through a mouthful of lunch-on-the-go.

"Is it possible for non-Riders to learn how to talk with their minds?"

"Yes."

"Um... 'cause I think I can." Anabelle was met with disbelief from the boys.

"What did you say?" Brom asked again.

"I think that I figured it out."

"Impressive. It usually takes months of practice for a normal human to do that." Brom said with skepticism.

"Hey, are you saying that we're not human then?" Evan asked jokingly.

"Technically, you and Evan are only _mostly_ human. Bonding with a dragon does more then give you powers. It changes you physically too. If you were Riders of the Varden in its peak, you would have been sent to Ellesmera, the elves' hidden city, to finish your training, and then you would have agreed you weren't completely human." There was an awkward moment of silence until Eragon said,

"Do you know what Saphira is saying now, Anabelle?" Anabelle's eyes brightened. She tried to expand her mind again and find the trap door, but it eluded her. Anabelle closed her eyes and concentrated hard on finding the gap that let her out. She managed to open her mind briefly to tap into Saphira's consciousness before the door closed her back within herself.

"I had it! But now it's gone..." Frustrated, she tried to force the trap door open, but it wouldn't budge.

"I can't get it again." She lowered her gaze, and her cheeks burnt red from embarrassment and anger at herself.

"Saphira says that she felt a presence reach her." Eragon tried to encourage Anabelle.

"It takes persistence. I was a bit skeptical that you could reach Saphira without instruction. Maybe if you..." Brom trailed on, but Anabelle's anger over shadowed Brom's lecture.

"_I _had_ it!"_ She yelled angrily in her head.

Over the next couple days they followed a routine. Brom would tutor Eragon and Evan on the ancient language and the pebble lifting exercise. Eragon quickly excelled at the magic tasks, but Evan excelled at fencing. Though Evan had less experience, he was better and learned quicker then Eragon. While the instruction and sword play was continuing, Anabelle would work on communicating with things in her mind and babysitting Ryla. As the days stretched on, it was evident that the teens were improving. Evan and Eragon no longer struggled to lift the pebble and were quick to summon up magic. They also became increasingly better fencers. They could spar for long periods of time without getting fatigued, and they escaped Brom's fencing sessions with fewer and fewer bruises. Anabelle managed to open her mind and carry on a decently long conversation with Saphira before the 'door' closed on her. Ryla was now knee-high and could fly with Saphira although not as high or as long. Ryla was still a little too small to carry Evan, but she was much too big to be carried. It slowed them down to have to wait for Ryla to rest from flying. Anabelle talked with her frequently. They were funny conversations because Ryla was just learning to talk, and Anabelle was just learning to keep her mind open long enough to talk.

Soon, they reached Daret. It was a small town, but so was Yazuac. They had learned not to underestimate trivial things such as size. This time, Evan was the one wearing Brom's barrowed cloak and Anabelle rode Saphira. It was this way because Ryla didn't need to be babysat, and, although no one would admit it out right, they didn't think Anabelle could fight her way out of a trap if one was set for them.

"You need to start teaching me how to use a sword! Maybe I could join your sparring sessions sometime?" Anabelle said as she mounted Saphira.

"_Brom needs to concentrate on instructing the Riders now, small one."_ Saphira's words were always influential and wise.

"I know." Anabelle sighed. For some reason, Saphira never called anyone but Brom by his name. Eragon was 'little one'. Evan was 'young one'. Anabelle was 'small one'. Anabelle had never flown with Saphira before, but after she heard Evan talk about it constantly, she knew she was in for the ride of her life. She strapped her legs into the stirrups and tightened them until she felt secure.

"_Are you ready, small one?"_ Saphira asked her. Anabelle tried to respond, but the door closed on her and when Saphira looked back concerned, Anabelle just nodded. Saphira unfurled her sapphire wings and leaped into the sky. Anabelle squealed a little. It was the anticipation that killed her as Saphira flew farther and farther into the air. The wind blew Anabelle's long, brown ponytail back, and Anabelle clung to Saphira for dear life. It was like riding up the first ramp of the rollercoaster. Saphira's wings were the clanking gears that pulled the coaster up and up. As Saphira leveled off, Anabelle couldn't help but let her jaw drop. She could see for miles. She could spot Daret and the Spine mountain range in the distance. She thought she could see they guys. They looked like tiny ants as Saphira coasted. Anabelle absentmindedly opened her mind to the world. She tried to expand it as she did the night she learned it. She wanted the whole world to know she was here! She briefly rubbed Saphira's consciousness. She tapped into it long enough to let Saphira feel the joy and thrill she had now.

"_I'm glad you enjoy-"_ Saphira stated before Anabelle was, once again, involuntarily cut off from the world. Saphira stayed close to Daret, incase there was another trap. Anabelle saw the tiny, orange Ryla darting around in the air along with them. She was fast like a firework. Anabelle joked she would explode into a rainbow of sparkling fire next. As they circled the town, Saphira started to dive. Butterflies fluttered in Anabelle's stomach as the ground came rushing up at them. Anabelle started to giggle uncontrollably. Roller coasters were _nothing_ compared to this! Once they seemed they were going to smash into the ground, Saphira yanked her wings open like a parachute and backpedaled safely to the ground. Anabelle had tears in her eyes partly because of the wind and partly because she was laughing so hard.

"That was amazing! Oh thank you, Saphira!" She managed to open her mind enough to say that much.

"_You are welcome."_ Saphira sounded pleased with herself. Ryla came fluttering down and didn't land as smooth as Saphira, but she was getting better. Anabelle shivered from the cold wind she just came through, but smiled all the more.

"_Evan was right! It _is_ amazing!" _Anabelle thought to herself. The three girls waited for the three guys to finish their work in Daret. Without warning, Saphira stiffened and gnashed her teeth.

"What happened?" Anabelle asked.

"_Eragon's in trouble again!"_ Saphira growled and flexed her claws. Anabelle and Ryla looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They waited for Saphira's instructions, but none came. After a time passed, Saphira said that they were okay and that they were done in Daret. Once the guys were a reasonably far distance from Daret, Saphira pounced on Eragon. She pinned him down and they were obviously having a fight. Ryla then, mimicking the older dragon, threw herself at Evan. He fell over with a thud. Then Ryla started licking Evan with her long, forked dragon tongue. Evan laughed a little and tried to push her off but to no avail. It reminded Anabelle of the Flintstones. Evan eventually coaxed Ryla off.

"Well?" Brom tapped his foot expectantly.

"She wants me to ride with her tomorrow." Eragon said. Brom looked pleased. Evan walked over to Anabelle. He just looked at her which made Anabelle uneasy.

"What? Quit looking at me like that!"

"I was trying to talk to you with my mind." He said flatly.

"Oh, sorry. I'm still working on that." She blushed.

"Look at my new gloves!" Evan said. Anabelle saw the leather gloves and nodded.

"Eragon has a pair too. It'll cover our scars." Evan said referring to his unnatural Rider's mark.

"What else did you get?"

"Um... food, horse stuff...oh yeah! I got some Alagaesia clothes." He took the clothes from Bob's saddle. Anabelle looked at them. There was a green shirt and dark brown pants and a pair of boots. Evan went behind a tree to change and came out with his new clothes on.

"I feel like Link." He said adjusting his green shirt.

"I just need the hat and the Master Sword." Anabelle laughed.

"So what happened in Daret? Saphira said you were in trouble."

"Nothing much. We were just surrounded by 60 archers and-"

"What?! What did you do?"

"We talked our way out of it. Apparently the villagers had Urgal trouble too so they were just being overly-cautious. We got our supplies and left."

"Interesting." The trek continued and so did Brom's teaching. Brom educated them on talking with their minds. Anabelle listened just as carefully as the Riders on this subject. He explained the rules and etiquette surrounding it such as; talking to other Riders' dragons is rude and so it prying through others' minds. Then Brom taught them how to block people from their minds. Simply concentrating on a single object without distraction would block people. Anabelle doubted her ability to do that because she got distracted easily. Although, Anabelle had to concentrate on actually communicating with her mind before she could block people. In the evening, the boys sparred. Brom had begun to let them spar with each other then correct their mistakes. Anabelle begged to join, but Brom ignored her. Anabelle gave up, slightly angry and degraded. She found Ryla who was resting flat on her belly and staring at an ant colony.

"Hey, Ryla." She said.

"_Hi Belle."_ Anabelle did not enjoy the nickname, but it made her feel special.

"_Have you ever noticed how ants are so successful in the ways they have structured social orders?" _

"No, unfortunately I haven't." Anabelle said dully as she stretched herself out next to Ryla. Anabelle kept trying to guess Ryla's age if she were a human. Though she was almost a month old, Anabelle guessed she was somewhere between ten or eleven years old.

"_See over there? The ones doing all the work are the majority of the group. They are smaller, but they colony revolves around them. These ones here are made for fighting."_ Ryla pointed to another ant.

"_They have big pinchers and are all-around bigger then the workers. They defend the ant colony from invading predators."_ Anabelle leaned in closer to see if she could see the different types of ant.

"_The fighter ants are much fewer because they give their life for their colony. Here is a scout on my claw. They look for food and other, more suitable, ways to get places. They seem the fewest because they always have somewhere to go, but they have to be just as brave as the fighters. But, do you know what's interesting?"_ Anabelle shrugged.

"_The scouts are worker ants that decided to have a little adventure."_ Anabelle bumped Ryla's age to eighteen or older. Either that or she was a thirteen year old genius. Ryla lowered her claw to the dirt and let the scout ant crawl off.

"_But what happens if a worker ant doesn't want to be a worker ant? What if it wants to be a fighter ant?"_

"It can't. It's not big enough." Anabelle answered.

"_Well, sort of. It wasn't' born with the abilities of a fighter ant so it was assigned to be a worker ant even though it hates it. What are its options?" _

"It can suck it up and deal with it?" Anabelle joked.

"_Or it could be a scout. It just has to accept what it was without ignoring its potential."_ Anabelle sighed. She knew where this was going.

"So you're saying that I'm that worker ant?"

"_Yes. You can't be a Rider like Evan and Eragon. It's not going to happen no matter what you try. What I'm saying is you should try to be a scout. You can still acknowledge your potential and strive to improve your strengths and powers and still accept that you aren't a Rider. Sulking and wishing won't do you any good. Find that thing that fits your style and go with it. Or,"_ Ryla laughed.

"_You can suck it up and deal with it."_ Anabelle took a deep breath. Ryla's words hit home.

"Thanks for the advice, Ryla." Anabelle said as she spaced out while watching the guys, trying to think of how to be a scout. The Riders were slashing until Eragon swung so hard he broke the wooden sword.

"Well, that is about as far we can go with wooden swords." Brom announced.

"Yeah! Real swords!" Evan exclaimed like a little kid getting a new toy.

"We'll chop each other to shreds!" Eragon shouted.

"Again, you forget magic." Brom seemed to enjoy correcting Eragon too much. Brom then proceeded to instruct the guys on how they could block the edges of the swords with magic. Brom let Evan use a sword he had just in case something like this happened. The boys now sparred with a revived eagerness. Anabelle managed to save Evan's undamaged wooden sword so she could possibly practice. Although she didn't know how much good it would do if she couldn't practice with someone.

**The ant thing is some-what true. I did a little research and did find that some ants have a type of caste system but I did have to twist it to make it sound a little more relevant to Ryla's point. I don't want to be copyrighting or plagiarizing so here's the URL of the website I got it off of: **.. **I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you again for reviewing! Please continue to give me feed-back on how my story is! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! Sorry this chapter took so long. It's a really long chapter again that was really time consuming to type, but It'll be worth it. Because I keep forgetting I'll write this now. Disclaimer: I do not own The Inheritance Cycle. I do own my OCs. Thanks to my reviewers: Hollyleaf9, and 0xy1d10t! I give you my greatest thanks! Alright, on to the story.**

The next day, Eragon rode Saphira like he promised. He almost grimaced that the endeavor. Evan and Anabelle gawked at his reaction.

"Eragon! Something must be wrong with you! Riding is amazing! I can hardly wait until Ryla is big enough to carry me!" Evan rubbed Ryla's head that was now able to sit on Evan's shoulder. Eragon, annoyed at the criticism, hopped on Saphira, and they took off. Evan rode Cadoc and Anabelle rode Bob. Brom quizzed Evan on words of the ancient language, and then tested him on how he could use magic to get out of situations Brom made up. Anabelle quizzed herself on words along with them that she had picked up from overhearing Brom's lessons. She didn't pay attention because she wanted to know them for magic purposes, but because she might meet people who spoke the language. She mostly knew connector words. Un was "and". Ono was "you". Eka - "I". Du - "the". She also picked up on words that were used a lot. Gedwey ignasia- the Riders' scar on their palm. Shur'tugal is "Rider". Skulblaka was "dragon". Then, without meaning to, she knew some spell commands because Brom made Eragon and Evan use them a lot. Stenr reisa made stones rise and brisingr was obviously "fire".

"Ok. Now, what if you were trapped in a room with solid stone walls, you were using up oxygen fast, your arms were tied to your legs, and your ears had fallen off. How would you escape?" Anabelle said sarcastically in response to Brom's almost impossible situations he concocted for Evan. Brom glared at her. Anabelle quickly regretted saying that on grounds that she might have gone too far.

"I'm sorry." She said sincerely.

"I know that you do not care much for magic, Anabelle. It's obvious, but Evan needs this information because it will help him _survive_! I don't expect you to understand because you are not a Rider with the responsibility of saving the lives of countless and keeping peace, but I at least expect you to know when to _keep you mouth shut_!" The ferocity in Brom's words struck Anabelle like a bullet in her heart. She stared at Bob's saddle with tear-blurred vision and only looked up to correct her path.

"_He never even yelled at _Eragon_ like that_." Anabelle yelled in her head. Anabelle was normally only outgoing like that around friends, and, now, Anabelle crawled inside her shell like she always did when she was still unfamiliar with the people around her. She didn't know them again. She then felt a pressure in her mind. Someone was trying to talk to her. She shut the door and kept it closed tight. If Anabelle was good at anything, it was beating herself up. The pressure returned, and Anabelle knew it could break through if the person wanted to, but the pressure remained gentle and eventually subsided.

Anabelle felt extremely homesick then they made camp that night. They found a flask of seither oil from the Ra'zac they were chasing. Now the group was on their way to Teirm where Eragon suggested they could find the Ra'zac layer by tracking where the shipments of the extremely rare oil went to. It was an elaborate plan that Anabelle didn't necessarily understand, but she knew better then to question it. She hadn't spoken a word that whole day after Brom had yelled at her.

When they camped near the Spine, Anabelle was tortured by her dreams. She dreamt that her family was being attacked by Urgals. They used magic to torture them and rip them apart limb by limb. She would yell and beg that they stop, but they would only laugh at Anabelle with their malicious, fanged smiles. Then Eragon and Evan would swoop down on their dragons and the Urgals would flee crying,

"Riders!" Although the Urgals were gone, her family's remains were still scattered in a bloody mess on the ground. Then Eragon would turn to Anabelle and shout, "Why did you let this happen, Anabelle! Why didn't you defend them!" Then Evan would turn and glare at her then say,

"Someday, we're not gonna be around to protect you and get you out of danger! And when that day comes," In a last desperate attempt, an Urgal shot an arrow at Anabelle from behind a rock. It pierced her back and sunk into her heart.

"You will _die_!" Evan hissed. Anabelle woke up screaming. She covered her mouth and had to remind herself to keep breathing. She couldn't help but check for an arrow sticking out of her. She _never_ had a dream where people died or woke up screaming before. To put it mildly, she was scared out of her wits. Although she was awake, it gave her no relief. She had to get away. She ran into the woods of the Spine through the dark she was terrified of until the fire was just a dim light in the darkness. There she sat against a tree, hugged her knees, and rocked herself. She cried a type of bawl/scream. It was a lament for he family that had been murdered in her dream, and an expression of how truly scared she was. The past events came crashing down hard. She hadn't seen her family in almost a _month_! Almost _died_ in Yazuac! Was pretty much _useless_ to help Eragon and Evan! And a _burden _to Brom! She heard someone start to come towards her which she deemed nearly impossible because of the intensity of her crying. She looked up through tear-blurred eyes, but could only see a silhouette. She guessed it was Evan.

"You alright?" The voice asked. It wasn't as deep as Evan's normal voice, but he just woke up. Probably from her scream. Anabelle couldn't answer.

"Why are you crying?" Evan asked sympathetically.

"I wanna go home." She managed to get out before collapsing into sobs.

"Me too." Evan admitted.

"Do you ever think we'll get back home?" She asked.

"I think we will."

"No, that's not what I mean. Do you really think that if you save Alagaesia that you'll want to go back home?"

"I can't say about me, but, if I can, I'll try to get you home."

"But what if that's not possible."

"What?" Evan asked, confused.

"You are always having to take care of me because there's no way I can help you. I'm just a burden to you, Eragon, and Brom. I don't have special powers. I can barely even talk with my mind! I'm just a pathetic," Anabelle tried to find the right word. "Human." She continued to cry. She didn't have the heart to tell Evan about her dream, the reason why she was _really_ crying.

"Sometimes, powers are more of a burned then people could ever be." Evan seemed remorseful although Anabelle had never heard him complain about being a Rider at all.

"That may be, but I'd endure burdens if it meant I could help you and Eragon save Alagaesia."

"Really?" Evan sounded skeptical. "I don't think you know what you're talking about." He said as a matter-of-factly.

"I think I do! I hate being useless. If you didn't have me to baby-sit, you could probably be in Teirm by now." The shadow paused for a moment.

"You gotta stop beating yourself up. You're not a bad person. Weakness is not a crime. You just got to remember that." Evan then started to walk away.

"_Anabelle?"_ She heard Evan call in her mind. "_Anabelle, where are you?"_ He asked.

"_I'm right behind you. Weren't you just talking to me_?" Then it hit her.

"Who are you!" She yelled at the figure she mistook for Evan. The figure stopped and looked back momentarily then started running. Anabelle chased after him, but the person was too fast. _Inhumanly_ fast. Anabelle still gave chase and tripped several times in the process until she finally gave up. The figure had disappeared like a ghost into the shadows of the Spine.

"_Anabelle! Are you alright_?" Eragon now called her in her mind. Oh great. She woke both of them.

"_I'm coming. I just had to get away for a moment. I saw someone in the woods and chased after him, but he got away." _

"_Did you figure out who it was? It wasn't a Ra'zac, was it?"_

"_No. I think it was just a kid. I mistook him for Evan. I couldn't see him that well." _

"_Should we be concerned about someone trying to attack us?_" Evan asked.

"_No, I don't think he wanted to harm me. If he wanted to, he could have, but I did tell him we were going to Teirm. We should probably be a little more careful now."_

"_Okay. Come back to camp fast. We'll have to keep watch more closely during the nights_."

"_Yeah. Sorry for waking you guys." _

"_No problem."_ She made it back to camp without sign of the mysterious boy she talked to. She fell asleep while pondering the stranger's puzzling words, but she didn't have the Urgal attack dream.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There's Teirm." Brom announced as a marvelous city appeared through the mist.

"That's not a city. That's a _fortress_!" Evan exclaimed.

"Yes, its walls have never fallen nor its armies been defeated." As they approached the city, Anabelle agreed with Evan's conclusion. The walls were at least ten feet thick and armed guards stood by portcullises. Above them in the walls were archer holes. Anabelle didn't know whether she would feel safe in here or trapped behind enemy lines.

"Should we use fake names?" Eragon asked.

"I don't think we'll be able to fool Jeod, the person we will be meeting here, and I trust him with your names, but to everyone else; I will be Neil, Eragon will be Jonathan, Evan will be Thomas, and Anabelle will be Mary.

"'_Mary'? Do I really look like a 'Mary' to him?_" Anabelle scoffed inside her head at the uncreative name, but she dared not say it aloud. She was trying to prove to Brom she did in fact know when to keep her mouth shut.

"What's our story?" Evan asked as they rode toward the city.

"We will be traveling to visit my sister, and you will be my nephews and niece. You three will be brothers and sister." They soon got into Teirm with little suspicion from guards. They walked into a pub of some sort, the Green Chestnut.

"Do you know where we could find a man named Jeod?" Brom asked the man at the counter. Anabelle felt unsafe here. She hated alcohol. The whole idea of killing your organs so you can be stupid didn't appeal to her at all. There was an uneasy atmosphere that didn't improve the situation. Brom started bribing the man for information with money she didn't even knew he had. After a man sitting at the table said where Jeod was across town next to Angela's store for free, Brom swept the coins back in his bag. The man, Martin, explained how pirates or something kept attacking ships, but only certain ones, like Jeod's. This alarmed Anabelle. Urgals, Dragon Riders, and now pirates?! She half expected _ninja's_ to jump out of the ceiling now. Anabelle didn't know how she could handle much more of this. Teirm was a city and Anabelle didn't like wandering through it. They came across where Martin thought Jeod's house was. It was next to an herbalist's shop.

"Do you really think he lives here?" Eragon asked.

"Let's ask." Brom approached a red haired woman in the herbalist's shop. She was writing with one hand and holding a frog in the other. Anabelle assumed this was the Angela that Martin talked about.

"Can you tell us which house is Jeod's?" Brom asked politely.

"Yes." The woman answered not looking up from her paper.

"Will you tell us?"

"Yes." She continued writing vigorously. After a few seconds of awkward silence the woman jumped up. "Of course, I'd tell you, but you never actually asked me to."

"Fine, let me ask you properly. Tell us which house if Jeod's, please." Angela smiled like the Cheshire cat.

"Now we are getting somewhere! Yes, Jeod is on the right."

"Why are you holding a frog?" Eragon asked. Brom gave him a harsh look.

"This is actually a toad, but I'm trying to prove that toads don't exist. Because if this toad was never a toad and only a frog, toads won't be able to do bad things; like cause warts, and be part of witch's magic." Anabelle liked the abstract was that this woman thought. It reminded of her honors geography teacher. Although, there was something about her that made Anabelle's skin crawl.

"Sounds interesting, and I'd love to hear more about it, but I have business with Jeod that I must take care of." With that, they left the herbalist's store and went to Jeod's.

After a while of knocking and talking to Jeod's bitter wife, Helen, they were let in. Jeod's house was magnificent. It showed he was undoubtedly wealthy despite his luck with the pirates. The butler showed the teens were they would be staying. Brom requested new clothes for the teens and Jeod happily obliged. Anabelle's new clothes were folded neatly on the guest bed she was to use. Evan and Eragon got their own bedrooms too. Anabelle's room was a single bed lined with soft quilts embroidered with red lining. Sowings of red roses were embedded into the quilts. There was a sink, but without running water. She concluded it would be technically called a wash basin. There was a tiny closet, but it held no clothes. There was a bed stand with a porcelain vase of dying roses. The petals were scattered all about the surface of the stand and on the floor. Anabelle went over to the bed, hearing the floorboards squeak as she walked, and picked up the clothes that were set out for her.

"The master did not have clothes that would fit you properly, but hopes that, for now, these will suffice." The Butler made Anabelle jump a little because she didn't know he was there. As Anabelle turned around she couldn't help but think of all the movies where the butler was always evil.

"Oh, these clothes will fit me fine. Thank you!" The butler closed the door as he exited the room. Anabelle locked it and changed. The shirt provided was a navy blue medieval looking long sleeved shirt. It had a "V" neck that could be drawn closed with drawstrings. Anabelle immediately did so. The shirt was big for Anabelle and obviously made for an adult, but Anabelle didn't think that would irritate her too much. The pants that came with it were big and baggy Capri kind of things. Now Anabelle understood what the butler meant by the clothes "not fitting". The pants were made for a guy. She got them on and they were a bit snug around the hips, but they were okay. There was also a light vest that was made of dark, thin leather. Anabelle found it hard to give up her blue jacket, but she was thankful too get a new, clean on that might _actually_ keep her warm. She folded up her jeans, old tee shirt, and blue jacked up as best she could, and laid them back on the bed unsure of what to do with them now. She wandered downstairs and found Brom and Jeod in a library of some sort. Jeod was older then Brom. He had grey hair and aged blue eyes, but he had a friendly atmosphere about him. They stopped talking when Anabelle came in.

"Thank you for my new clothes, Sir." She smiled.

"You are welcome." Then he turned his attention back to Brom and their conversation.

"We should go to a safer place to talk, my old friend." Jeod said to Brom.

"Can I come?" Eragon said from behind Anabelle. She suppressed a jump again because he was standing behind her and she didn't know it. Jeeze, that was getting annoying.

"I don't see why not..." Brom said with a hint of "you better be good though" in his tone.

"I would like to go see... my friend." Evan said. Brom nodded, understanding he wanted to see Ryla.

"It would be best if not all of you went with me. It would be less suspicious."

"Can I come too?" Anabelle looked to Brom for approval. He nodded as well.

"If you are going outside the city, make sure to be within city walls before dark. You will be shut out the whole night if you aren't." Jeod warned like a father would address his daughter's boyfriend about the time she was to be home.

"We'll be back before then. Thank you for the hospitality, Sir." Evan said then he and Anabelle left Jeod's house. Evan and Anabelle navigated as best they could through Teirm. Evan had a sword slung across his back just in case. Soon, they exited through the gates. After walking a way, Evan stopped. Anabelle assumed he was contacting Ryla. Evan then started walking again.

"Evan, is it just me or is your hair getting blonder?" Anabelle tried to remember how red Evan's hair was compared to now.

"Red isn't my natural hair color." Then he whispered, "I'm actually blonde!" Anabelle laughed a little.

"I wondered."

"Have you noticed anything else different about me?" Evan asked. Anabelle was taken off guard at the question. Anabelle was never good at these types of questions.

"Uh..." Anabelle mumbled. She self consciously looked him over. She already knew about his hair. Of course it was longer and he had accumulated more freckles, but that was about it.

"I give up." Anabelle surrendered.

"My ears!" He said obviously. Anabelle raised an eyebrow.

"They're pointed!" His normally rounded ears were now slightly tapered back like an elf's.

"Now you _really_ look like Link! How did they get like that?" Anabelle exclaimed as she couldn't help but check her own ears. They were normal.

"One of the side effects of being a Rider. Eragon's are pointier then mine. I'm surprised you didn't notice earlier." He said as a matter-of-factly.

"Have you gotten over that fight you had with Brom?" Evan changed the subject again. Anabelle was having trouble keeping up.

"I guess." Anabelle's smile faded.

"I was really immature. Is he still mad?"

"No. I don't think so." He said then lifted his "red" head towards the top of a cliff.

"Ryla and Saphira are up there." The cliff was well protected and isolated. The trick was getting there.

"Ryla says that Saphira's going to come and get us." They waited as Saphira glided down and landed next to them. Saphira then carried them up one by one on her azure, sparkling scales. Ryla came over and started licking Evan like a dog. Then Ryla stopped and greeted Anabelle.

"Hi Belle!" Shouted Ryla in Anabelle's mind. Anabelle flinched at the loud scream that raddled her brain.

"Hi, Ry." She smiled. Anabelle sat on the edge of the cliff, her feet dangling off the ledge as she waited for Evan and Ryla to finish talking. Evan then came and sat beside Anabelle.

"Um…Anabelle. I have to tell you something." Evan said slowly. Anabelle's hearts started to flutter.

"What?" She pretended to act calm.

"Ryla and I were talking and…we think it would be best for you to stay here in Teirm when we leave." She sputtered out quickly. Anabelle's dreams quickly crashed.

"What! Why?"

"It might get dangerous soon and, frankly, you can't defend yourself. You could get hurt or worse. It's probably just best for you to stay here where it's safe." Anabelle was so appalled she didn't have words.

"How do you know it's going to get dangerous? What if you teach me to use a sword? Then I could help and I could-"

"Remember when I told you to stay close to Eragon if anything happened in Yazuac? It's that same thing here." Evan suddenly gained great interest in looking at his shoes.

"I don't care if you think I'll think you're insane! I need to know how you know these things –_now_!"

**Dun Dun DUN!!! This is a part where I need the reviewers' help to see how the story is going to go after this. All you have to do is review and answer this question: Should Evan reveal his secret/the truth? Should he only reveal part of the secret/truth? Or should he keep Anabelle oblivious? You decide! Bwahahahaha! The majority will rule and if it comes in as a tie I will flip a coin or something and that will be the one I will go with. So, yeah. Please review! Thank you once again to my reviewers!**


	9. End of Part 1

**Okay! Sorry this chapter's a bit late. I wanted to make sure everyone who was going to review and vote on the outcome of Evan's secret. On a 2-1 vote the outcome it- Evan will partially reveal his secret. Woot! I'd also like to thank my remarkable reviewers (heehee) ; Hollyleaf9, awesome, xt-219, and 0xy1d10t. And to answer 0xy1d10t's question, I do have plans for Devin in the future. (rubs hands together evilly) Thank you all for your continued reviewing! I would give you all cookies if I could! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon or the Inheritance Series. I do own my many OCs. **

"Okay, I'll tell you. But _you must not tell anyone_!" Evan said dead serious.

"This situation we're in, what's happening now, is all like deja vu to me. Imagine it's like a book I've already read. I have...gone through this before, but I haven't. Anyway, if you believe me, Eragon is going to join with the Varden so we are going to the Varden. It's going to be dangerous on the way there and after we get there. Just trust me; you would get severely hurt or worse if you came with us." Anabelle stared at him dumbfounded.

"I told you that you would think I was insane..."

"Well, we'll discuss your sanity later, but if what you say is true, what about _you_ getting severely wounded or worse?"

"I know what's going to happen. I'm also a Rider with a dragon, and I know how to use a sword. I'll be fine." Evan said to reassure Anabelle as well as himself. Anabelle saw right through him.

"You're lying. You're fate will be just as uncertain as mine whether I stay or go with you!"

"But it's a risk I'm willing to take. But I'm not willing to risk _you_. Before you protest, just think about it. We won't leave Teirm for about a week or so." Anabelle looked away from him and at the horizon. She could see the ocean reflect the orange light of the sun, sinking below the waves. She saw ships come and go from the harbor, and she was, once again, plagued by homesickness of the memories of her family and friends.

"Homesick?" Evan asked. Anabelle nodded. It wasn't a surprise he guessed her mood right. Her face was easy to read. No matter what she did, she could never manage an impassive, emotionless face if her life depended on it. She really hated that quirk about herself. Evan didn't respond with anything but a long, exasperated sigh. Eragon joined them later that evening. When they returned to the city, they had a race to see who could get past the gate first. Evan was the fastest and Eragon was next, but Anabelle _almost_ beat Eragon. She blamed the fact that Eragon was a Rider and she was not. Eragon laughed and denied that was the reason. As the three entered the house, they were ushered in by the butler into Jeod's study. There, Brom and Jeod stood.

"We were beginning to worry about you. How were your walks?"

"Okay." Eragon reported. "Do you have any idea how long we'll be staying in Teirm?" Eragon asked.

"That depends. We're planning to talk to Brand, the records keeper, to see if we can check the records for seither oil tomorrow." Brom said.

"I don't think I'll be any help there." Eragon looked down at the floor uneasily.

"Why not? There will be plenty of work."

"I can't read." Everyone stared at Eragon.

"Your uncle never taught you to read?"

"I didn't know he _could_ read!" Eragon answered defiantly. Brom looked like he was going to explode. Then he, through much self control, calmed himself.

"I will just have to _teach_ you to read." Brom pointed at Evan and Anabelle.

"I assume you two can read." They nodded.

"Good."

"You'll like reading, Eragon." Jeod started.

"Books are like old friends. They make you laugh and cry and they always tell the same stories over and over again." Jeod smiled teasingly at Brom. Brom frowned. Eragon started wandering the library and pulled out a really old, fancy-shmancy book. It was hand written and the script was like an art in itself.

"Jeod, I see you have expanded your collection. I haven't seen a Domia abr Wyrda in ages." Brom observed.

"It's ironic that you would pick up the Dominance of Fate, Eragon. It is a complete history of Alagaesia. When the Empire found out about it, they detained it as blasphemy and made it illegal to own one." Anabelle was immediately curious. She loved learning history, and she liked to read.

"Can I see?" Anabelle slid over next to Eragon to see the book. Anabelle's heart sunk.

"Most of it is in the ancient language." She said sadly.

"Will the records be in the ancient language? Because, if so, I might need tutoring as well." Anabelle admitted.

"No. The records won't be in the ancient language. Most people don't even know what the ancient language is. Only the elves, and on occasion, Riders speak it as a form of communication."

"Why are elves so special?" Anabelle asked then was reminded of her goal to show Brom she could keep her mouth shut.

"The youth must be hungry for knowledge these days." Jeod said reflectively to Brom.

"Another time." Brom said sternly. Anabelle backed down. Soon, they were sent to their rooms for the night. Exhaustion finally took her over before she could become homesick again, and she slept relatively peacefully through the night. Anabelle was amazingly grateful for an opportunity to rest and sleep on a feathered mattress. She felt like she was sleeping on clouds.

Anabelle woke to the sun streaming down through the window onto her face. Concluding that she could sleep no longer, she untangled herself from the mass of blankets and quilts and got up. She found that next to the wash basin was a hand mirror, comb, and some assorted make-up items. Anabelle took the comb and brushed through her hair. Like most of the girls at her school, her hair was naturally curly. But what made her different from most girls was the fact she_ left_ it curly. The thought of damaging her hair with a straighten-er was not appealing. After her hair no longer looked like bed head, she wrapped it in a low ponytail like she did everyday. She washed her face in the basin and tried her best to keep her hair out of the water. She smiled at the kind gesture of make-up. Anabelle made it her goal to be different and be naturally beautiful. Then, if a guy said she was pretty, she knew it wasn't because she tried to be so. Changing into her new clothes, she went downstairs to see what everyone else was up to. She found no one was down there. She checked both Evan and Eragon's rooms and they weren't there. She checked Jeod's study. Both Jeod and Brom were nowhere to be found. A chill ran up Anabelle's back as she assumed the worst. Maybe they had already left Teirm and Evan was lying. Anabelle quickly checked other rooms in the house until she ran into the butler who explained that Brom and Jeod went to the castle to check with Brand and Eragon, Evan, and she were allowed to explore the town. Anabelle's heart slowed as she calmly thanked the butler.

She left the house some what nervous. She didn't want to be left alone in the house with only the butler and Jeod's scary wife. However, she also didn't want to wander through the city alone. Anabelle decided she would go check on the dragons. Maybe the Riders were there? She walked quickly through the streets, avoiding crowds when she could. She tried to remember the path that she and Evan took to get out of the city. As Anabelle was walking, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck start to stick up. Then, an eerie feeling came over her as she realized someone was following her. It was a boy, a teenager about her age. His hair was straw blonde, and he wore all yellow clothes. He stood out in the crowd and followed her where ever she went. Anabelle then reached out with her mind, trying to see if she could find Eragon or Evan nearby. It was really hard for two reasons. 1. The streets were crowded and picking out an individual's consciousness was difficult. 2. She was nervous because of the strange guy following her. She couldn't keep her mind open for more then a few seconds before it shut on her. Quickening her pace, she pushed through the crowds, trying to blend in and get as much distance between herself and her stalker. As she looked back to see if he was still there, she found he was ever closer then before. She kicked in the gears and ran through the town whenever there was a break in the mob of people. She called out frantically with her mind for Evan or Eragon, but she could not find them. Eventually she was able to see the Teirm gate. As she ran toward it, she stopped herself. If she led this guy to the dragons, Evan and Eragon's cover would be compromised. She turned around when she saw the guy in yellow searching for her. She ducked into the nearest street side store. She crouched behind a garb of clothes until some feet came into view of her hiding place. Clothes started to part as the person searched between them. She could feel her heart racing as the searcher looked between the clothes hanging closer and closer to her hiding spot. Then the clothes shielding her were parted to reveal- not her stalker. The boy was a few years older then her, eighteen or nineteen. He had thick black hair with thick eyebrows to match and a scruffle on his face but not enough for it to be called a beard. His brown eyes were confused, but friendly, and he had a relatively happy atmosphere about him.

"What're you doin' back here?" He asked with pure curiosity. His voice was deeper then Eragon's and even Evan's but lighter then Brom's or Jeod's. It had that teenaged newness where she could tell his voice had matured not more then five years ago. Yet, his voice had a funny rumble to it that made his voice very distinctive.

"Heh heh. Sorry..." Anabelle said, embarrassed. Seeing her stalker was no where in sight, she relaxed a bit. She got up and adjusted her clothes.

"So, what-"

"Nathan! Get back to work!" She saw a dark haired man yell at the guy, Nathan, who had a strong family resemblance.

"'Kay, um, see ya later, uh..." Anabelle knew he wanted her to tell him her name there, but she knew it would be better for Evan and Eragon's mission if less people knew she was here. Anabelle nodded casually and hurried out of the store and back onto the street. She decided that going to see the dragons today was a bad idea in case the guy in yellow decided to follow her. She went back to Jeod's house. It would be the safest place and stalker-free. Once she was almost to Jeod's house, she caught a glimpse of something odd in Angela the Herbalist's store. Eragon was in there. Curious, she backed up and peered in the doorway. Eragon was sitting at a small table across from Angela, and on the table were _bones_ and little talismans with symbols on it. Eragon must have been getting his fortune told. Anabelle confirmed her instinctive uneasiness around Angela. She was a witch. Realizing that she might be eavesdropping, she waited on the steps of Jeod's house, fiddling with her hair. Once Eragon was finished, Anabelle asked what happened. Eragon did not give up any information other then he was having his fortune told. Anabelle understood he was protecting his privacy. As she walked with Eragon, she told him of the guy in yellow that chased her through Teirm. Eragon was slightly disturbed, but didn't think of it more then just a creep-o on the street. None the less, Anabelle walked close to Eragon, checking constantly for her stalker. They went to go visit the dragons and with no sign of the guy in yellow, Anabelle assumed it was okay. They found that Evan was already there and had been there about the whole day. Anabelle then retold the story of her stalker to Evan who had about the same reaction as Eragon. That night when they returned, Brom had announced that their luck had not gone well with Brand, and he would not let them see the records, but Brom did not intend to give up.

The next week consisted of Eragon's meticulous and merciless struggle to become literate. Anabelle faced her own challenge in trying to read the Dominance of Fate. She would ask Jeod was words meant and her vocabulary and knowledge of the ancient language grew immensely. She often enjoyed talking in the ancient language with Eragon or Evan or whoever else would humor her. Of course Evan and Eragon's sparring sessions continued, but a small crowd of wide-eyed kids would often gather to watch. The teens would regularly visit the dragons in the afternoons and then return to Jeod's before the gates closed. Anabelle would also often talk with Nathan whom she had become friends with. He never pried for answers but, instead, simply enjoyed her company while he was working. As the week came to an end, Eragon was decently literate. Brom had announced his huge plan about how to get to the records, and he was going to put it into action the next day.

"So, have you decided if you're going to stay yet?" Evan asked Anabelle after dinner was over. Brom had discussed the matter with Jeod, and he was happy to agree to let Anabelle stay temporarily. His wife, like usual, was silent and only frowned at the question. Anabelle averted her eyes from Evan. She had avoided thinking about the inevitable end of the week where she would have to decide.

"Anabelle you've just gotta understand." Evan said reverting back to his Hoosier accent.

"I'm only thinking of you." Evan said sincerely. If it had been under different circumstances, Anabelle would be blushing and her heart would be fluttering. Now, however, Anabelle's averted eyes started to well up, and she knew any second she would lose emotional control and crawl into a sobbing fit. Not willing to let Evan see how unstable she was right now, she walked back to her room and closed the door. She then threw herself on the bed and buried her face in her pillows to mute the sound of her weeping. Of course, closed doors and pillows don't do nothin' when you can communicate with your mind.

Evan entered Anabelle's mind before she had time to block him. She tried to gather herself before her emotions and thoughts drifted over through the telepathic link. Once Anabelle finally regained her composure, at least temporarily, a wave of understanding willing escaped into Anabelle from Evan' mind. She then knew her emotions had reached him. She was scared mostly for Evan and Eragon's safety. Scared to be alone without them. She was also angry that they had abandoned her. Another feeling was helplessness, the reason she had to stay behind. Also a love for both the Riders and dragons that she had gotten to know so well. They were her family, and they were leaving her. They were leaving to protect her. They were protecting her because she was helpless which started the emotional roller coaster over again. Evan's emotions of reassurance and peace diffused into her own. Evan then retreated from her mind. Exhausted from crying and emotionally spent, Anabelle lay there, holding on to the peaceful, reassuring thoughts like balloons. Afraid if she thought about something else, they would drift away out of her grasp into the atmosphere. She lay there until sleep took her to a place where she didn't remember that her best friends were leaving her. But she did not rest well. She had the Urgal attack dream again which made her want to hold onto the Riders more. But she did have one assuring thought though. She did have one day left with them. She decided not to waist it. The last thing she wanted was for Evan and Eragon to have guilt hanging over them or to worry about her when they left. Anabelle dressed and washed her face. Once she was finished, she found the guys had already left for the castle about dawn. To distract her from worrying about the guys until they returned, she went to go talk to Nathan. Although she hadn't seen the guy in yellow for a week that never made her put her guard down. Now that she was alert, she spotted the stalked quicker then she would have normally. As soon as she saw him she knew he had seen her as well. She didn't bother with walking. She ran. She took as many turns and corners as she could, weaving a maze through the city. Being lost was not a concern. There was no one that could help her now. She was on her own. Evan's words from the Urgal attack dream kept ringing in her head as an ominous death sentence. 'You will _die_!' The guy in yellow followed her everywhere. She, out of desperation, turned one final corner. It was a dead end. The closed in space and no escape reminded her all too much of Yazuac. The only difference was Eragon was with her in Yazuac. She turned around and saw the guy in yellow standing at the end. He didn't grim maliciously or even speak. He didn't approach her either. He just stood at the entrance and waited. Suddenly a person came from behind and tackled him. Anabelle assumed it was Evan or Eragon, but it wasn't. The guy in yellow didn't try to get up. He just fell over like a doll. The tackler backed away and hit the ground with his fist.

"..9...10! He's down!" The new boy got up and raised his arm in the air.

"Noah -0. Richard- what is this now? Thirty-seven? Richard – thirty-seven!" He extended his hand to help the guy in yellow, Noah, who was still lying down on the ground. Anabelle noticed that the tackler's face was paper pale. His hair was brown and flopped over on one side, and he wore a long, thick coat.

"C'mon, Noah! It's no fun if you don't fight-"Richard, the cloaked tackler, stiffened. He slowly pulled Noah to his feet. Noah then pointed a finger toward Anabelle. Richard followed it and was now also looking at Anabelle. Then by some unspoken command, Richard understood and he raised an eyebrow as if to say,

"Are you serious?" Noah then walked away. Richard smiled briefly and waved at Anabelle and also left leaving Anabelle very confused. Something in the back of her mind told her she had heard Richard's voice before. She made it to Nathan's store with no sign of Richard or Noah. It seemed they had vanished into thin air.

"Hey, Mary!" Nathan said cheerily.

"Hi." Anabelle replied politely. Anabelle told Nathan her fake name Brom said to use. It made her friendship with him seem fake, but he didn't think so.

"You wanna help me shelve these?" Nathan asked in his low, rumbling voice.

"Sure." Anabelle grabbed a stack of assorted hand-woven clothes and helped put them on the correct shelves.

"My aunt's gonna be commin' soon, so my mom won't have t' weave the clothes all by herself. My dad's too busy makin' the leather vests and such t' help. And I'm either managin' the store or helpin' Dad. It's not fun t' be the only child." Nathan enjoyed talking and telling stories to Anabelle. She could tell he didn't have much time to hang out with the other boys his age. Although, the boys his age were either gone running their own farm or business and supporting a family. He was courting a girl that was fourteen named Chelsea. The thought made Anabelle twitch. However, Nathan was as head-over-heels for her as a typical guy would be over a girl where she came from. After a few minuets of sorting clothes, Nathan commented,

"You're quieter the usual. Are you okay?" Anabelle guessed he must have read her facial expression. She was thinking about Eragon and Evan.

"My brothers are leaving tomorrow. They won't be back for...a long time." Anabelle didn't even pause when she called them her brothers. They _were_ brothers to her.

"Aww. Sorry t' hear that. What're their names again?"

"Jonathan and, uh, Thomas." She tried to recall their fake names.

"Yeah. I used to have a sister." Nathan started. Anabelle's attention immediately focused on him.

"She was three years older then me. She'd be twenty-one now."

"What happened to her?" Anabelle asked.

"When she was six and I was three, she disappeared. She just simply wasn't there one day. We searched for her. I remember my mom in tears and my dad was depressed for weeks. I really missed her. I would wander around the city even a year later asking if people had seen my sister. My mom would get really scared for me and angry when I went off looking without her permission. One day, I ran off in the middle of the night because I thought I saw her. I don't remember though. It was such a long time ago. All I remember was sprinting outside and then blank. The next thing I remember was I was in bed. I couldn't remember those two minuets. I was so frustrated. The next time I thought I saw her; it was two years after she disappeared. I heard her voice, but I thought I was imagining it like I had so many times before. Then I heard her voice again as clear as day. 'Natey baby.' She whispered. (That's what she'd call me.) It was so vivid that I knew she had to be just outside. I sat up in bed and answered back. I jumped up and ran out the door."

"What happened? Was she there?" Nathan looked at the ground and seemed to be somewhere else.

"...I don't remember." Nathan said as he came back to reality. His eyebrows were drawn together. He looked so sad.

"It's so fuzzy. I...can't. I do remember feeling _so_ happy. I was so happy for _something_. I don't remember what about. I remember running into my room afterward and furiously writing down what happened before I forgot. I wrote down what I remembered she'd said, but when it came to what was outside and why I was so happy...I couldn't remember. I still have that note. It is one of my most precious possessions." Nathan said as he went in the back to find it. He promptly came out with a scrap of paper. He handed it to Anabelle. Anabelle took it carefully. It was written with messy five-year-old handwriting, but she could read it.

"I herd Melissa today! She sed Naty baby. I miss you! I sed Mel! Mel! I miss you to. Ware are you? Then I runned outside and I wuz so hapy! It wuz It wuz" Then there was a blank like he had forgotten what he was saying. Then he wrote 'It was!' like he had remembered then it stopped again as if he forgot.

"See? I almost guarantee I would have forgotten that whole night if it weren't for this note. No one believed me. They kept telling me that since I forgot it must have been a dream, but I knew it wasn't! I know it wasn't a coincidence that I forgot seeing her two times. I probably sound insane to you. I'm sorry." Nathan shook his head at himself and resumed stacking clothes.

"No. I believe you!" Anabelle said.

"Thanks but you don't need to make me feel good. I just miss her is all." Anabelle started to object but didn't think she could convince him.

"What did she look like?" Nathan cleared his throat.

* * *

"I'm gonna go lay down. I don't feel good right now." Nathan said as he walked quickly passed Anabelle. She thought she saw him wipe tear. She felt really bad. She hadn't meant to make him cry. She silently cursed at herself and left the store. If Anabelle was good at one thing, it was beating herself up.

* * *

"We got it!" Anabelle jumped up when she heard Eragon's voice boom through the door. She ran down the stairs to where the guys were. A sigh or relief flowed through her. Jeod led them all to his study where he unrolled a map of Alagaesia. Anabelle looked at the map in awe. Alagaesia was _huge_! After discussing the problem, the group concluded the Ra'zac must be in Dras-Leona. After the group dispersed, she took Evan aside.

"Um.. I just wanted to let you know I've decided to stay." Evan looked relieved. "What convinced you?" Evan asked.

"Um...well...if you are right then you do know what is going to happens so you can avoid danger and know how to defeat it. I trust you'll be safe." She was lying through her teeth. She was trying to convince herself, but couldn't. She forced a smile and then left as quickly as possible before Evan could see the fear in her eyes. She couldn't sleep that night either. When she did she kept having variations of the Urgal attack dream. One time, it was she who was being ripped apart by the Urgals. Then the Riders came and defeated them, but the Ra'zac joined in with the Urgals and killed the Riders. Another time it was the Riders being ripped apart and Anabelle could do nothing to stop it. After waking up screaming for the third time, Anabelle concluded sleep was not possible. She lay in bed trying to convince herself the guys would be just fine. She lay there until she heard commotion downstairs, and she jumped out of bed. She was already dressed and ran down. They were leaving.

Jeod and Brom said goodbye. Then the Riders said goodbye to Jeod. If Anabelle was a huggy person, she would have just squeezed the tar out of the Riders, but she wasn't so she didn't. Eragon, however, didn't care. He hugged her anyway. She stiffened up and didn't hug back, but she got the point. After Eragon let go, Evan was the only one she hadn't said goodbye to.

"Let's hurry up! We got to get out of here as soon as possible." Brom said quickly.

"Just promise me that you will remember to come back for me in one piece, okay?"Anabelle and Evan couldn't look at each other because it was so awkward. Anabelle thought her goodbye sounded incredibly corny, but she really meant it.

"Just as long as you promise you'll be waiting here." Evan said in equal awareness of the awkwardness/corniness. Anabelle smiled and nodded. Brom, Eragon, and Evan mounted their horses, and Anabelle waved as they went down the road.

"Wait!" She called in Evan's mind. He stopped and looked back, his dark brown eyes relflecting the sunlight.

"S-say goodbye to Ryla for me!"

"I know." Evan smiled then turned Bob around and joined Eragon and Brom ahead. She watched them disappear around a corner; Anabelle didn't go back inside until she couldn't see the Riders anymore. She watched them disappear around a corner and just like that- they were gone.

**Awww! The sad part!! (breaks down in sobs) I'm okay. Well, this is the end of part uno of my story. I'm not sure if I should create a whole new story for part 2 or just continue adding chapters. If you have a suggestion on what I should do, please tell me in a review! Thank you once again for all the faves and reviews! Thank you Armed and Fabulous, eviltwin2318, Hollyleaf9, and Second in Command Bob Curly for fav-ing my story! Also thank you xt-291 and Second in Command Bob Curly for putting me on Story Alert! I cannot thank you enough! ******


	10. Part 2

**Sorry my chapter was late. I had a lot of school work to do so this chapter might be a bit short compared to the previous chapters. I'm going to try to flip back and forth between Evan and Anabelle's point of view, but I have much more of Anabelle's point of view then Evan's written. So there might be more for her. Anyway, thank you to my reviewers: Hollyleaf9 and xt-219. I can't thank you enough! Okay on with the long awaited- Part 2!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon. I own my OCs.**

Part 2

Evan ran a hand through his fading red hair. He was kinda self-conscious about his hair. That's why he dyed it. He was so relieved that Anabelle decided to stay in Teirm on her own accord. He wasn't going to let her come with him whether she wanted to or not. To be honest, he was scared about getting captured by the Ra'zac as much as the next person, but he had to go. He was a Rider now and 'with great power come great-' well, you get the point. Evan also had an advantage even other Riders didn't have- knowing the future. Everything was going mostly the way he planned it. The only thing he didn't know was _how the freak he got here_! He definitely did not was to live in Eragon-land the rest of his life. The only thing he could do now was go along for the ride then get off at the next exit, which he assumed was when they got to the Varden. Once he was for sure that he could get out, he would go back for Anabelle. The only complicated part in his plan was he had to _survive_ until then. What he conveniently forgot to tell Anabelle was that saying 'after they got to the Varden it got dangerous' was a gross understatement. Aww snap, right? Evan didn't know how much more of riding with Eragon and Brom he could take. Eragon never seemed to shut his mouth, and Brom never stopped critiquing him. He caught Ryla thinking of Anabelle a lot. Evan kinda felt guilty that he hardly thought of her at all anymore after they left Tierm a week ago.

"_She's safe, Ryla. There's no need to keep worrying._" He advised.

"_I can't help but wonder if she really is safe._" Evan felt Ryla's concern through the telepathic link.

"_I don't think she's in the least bit danger. She's probably talking about how much she misses me."_ Evan knew Anabelle liked him. He'd known for a while and he found it... _funny_ for a lack of better words. He didn't think of her any more then a friend though.

"_You shouldn't taunt her for liking you._" Ryla said defensively.

"_But she's practically _attached_ to me! Can't she learn to be a little more independent?_" Evan thought harshly to himself. Then he forgot he was still in contact with Ryla. Oops.

"_You're a jerk, you know that? The only reason she's '_attached_' to you is because you are security to her!" _Ryla snarled_._ If any kid suddenly winds up a Dragon Rider, a word to the wise- the dragon is_ always right_. Evan didn't really think those things about Anabelle and he would never dare say anything bad about her to anyone, but she was like his little sister. They could disagree, right? "_Evan, take a deep breath."_ Ryla said softer but just as firm. Evan obeyed.

"_I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me. I just seem so irritated lately._"

"_I understand._" Evan was so grateful for Ryla's presence. She told it like it was, but she always told the truth. He could probably be able to ride her in a few weeks. Evan was uber-ly excited about that. After a few more hours, Dras-Leona finally lay on the horizon. He told Eragon that they were close to their destination with his mind and soon Eragon and Saphira came flying in. When they landed it was evident that they had been swimming in Leona Lake. Ryla didn't want to go swimming so Evan had no choice in the matter. When they were closer, Evan realized that it had been almost two months since they entered this world.

"_It must be spring there._" He wondered what his family was doing, and if his friends were still wondering how he suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. Although he also didn't know if time passed here the same as time passed in Indiana. Maybe it was like Narnia where time passed by fast in Narnia but almost stood still in real life? Evan felt homesick for the first time in a while, he realized. He'd always wanted to get away. He would wander around the halls before school started, not standing and talking in the circles of people that lined the cafeteria or the library, and people watch. Some people might think that people-watching was weird and stalker-ish, but Evan didn't care. He thought it was fun. Saphira and Ryla flew off before someone could see them. He quickly realized that Dras-Leona was a bad town. The old, creepy tower that stood at its main entrance, Helgrind, only intensified that fact. As they led the horses into Dras-Leona, Evan decided that the best way to describe the city was to call it the sewer of Uru'baen, the probably filthier capital of Alagaesia where the evil ex-Dragon Rider, Galbatorix, lived. People were the rats of the sewer that griped in the mud and filth and fought over food with knarled hands. It made a chill run down Evan's spine. They checked in a shack of a hotel. He hated it but picked out one of the seven bunks anyway. It looked gross and bug infested, but when he pulled back the covers he saw no bugs which was a surprise. As long as there were no bugs he didn't care- much. Eragon slept on the floor because he was convinced bugs would eat him alive if he slept on his bunk. Evan didn't blame him. It took Evan a while to feel comfortable enough to fall asleep. Evan blamed exhaustion the only reason he could.

Anabelle woke to someone shaking her from her sleep. She opened her eyes to stare at a little, scruffy boy standing next to her. She opened her mouth to ask what he was doing in the house, but he smashed his hands over her mouth. He was abnormally strong for a little kid. When the boy finally released her she asked,

"Who are you?" The boy covered her mouth again.

"Quiet! I can answer you're questions as we go, but you need to come with me as fast as you can if you want to live." Anabelle sleepily got out of bed.

"Well, are you going to answer my question?" She asked while wiping the junk that lined her eyes with her sleeve.

"My name is Solembum. I'm the werecat that you saw in Angel's store."

"A werecat? Like a were_wolf_?" Anabelle added werecats to her list of weird creatures she'd encountered. Her list was growing fast.

"If you think I'm a Sundiver then you're wrong, but you have the concept correct."

"What?" Anabelle never heard of a 'Sundiver' before.

"You ask too many questions. Get your things together. You must erase any sign that you've been here." Anabelle did as she was told. She gathered her extra clothes which were her only belongings and straightened up the room. She made the bed and tried to stamp out the fire when Solembum stopped her.

"You will be traveling. You will need only the clothes on your back. Burn the extras." She threw her old clothes in the fire.

"Come, out the window." Solembum jumped out the window of her guest bedroom that opened into a back ally of the house. Solembum jumped nimbly, like a cat, and landed softly. Anabelle slid down too. Solembum then peaked around the corner to see if the coast was clear.

"Where are you taking me? And why?" Anabelle whispered.

"You must get as far away from the Empire's cities as possible. The Empire has heard of the information that was stolen. They also know that you were seen with them. They want to capture you so they can question you, and they'll be shocked when they find out two new Dragon Riders were the culprits. Guards are on their way now. I'm getting you out of Teirm." Anabelle's heart quickened. She'd never thought of that. Apparently, neither did Evan.

"Stay quiet and follow me." Solembum instructed. He skidded across the ally and led her through the city. He stayed in alleys and stealthfully made their way to the gate.

"What about the guards at the gate? Even if I get passed them, the portcullis is still down." Anabelle said nervously.

"You will get through the gate, but you will be seen. I will help you, but you must be ready to run as fast as you can. The guards are more or less for show. They wear heavy armor, and that will make it difficult for them to chase you a long distance. However you must consider that they are strong, grown men." Anabelle didn't know where the strange werecat was leading but it didn't sound good.

"Once you are outside the gate, run for the woods and hide. Then get as far away from the Empire as you can." Solembum instructed, but before Anabelle could ask questions, he left. Solembum them morphed into a cat before Anabelle's eyes. She couldn't help but stare. He then padded past the guards and went under the portcullis. He paced a few more feet and started to wash his ears. Anabelle cautiously wandered up to the guards pretending to be looking for something.

"Halt. Why're you out at such a late hour?" One of the guards asked her.

"I'm looking for my cat. He ran away, and I can't find him. Have you seen him?" She asked innocently, hoping her small size would fool the guards into thinking she was much younger then she really was.

"One just went under the portcullis." The other guard informed. Anabelle then went up to the gate and peered through to Solembum.

"Fluffy! C'mere, boy! Come!" After Solembum didn't respond Anabelle looked up at the guards with puppy dog eyes.

"Can you please open the gate so I can get my kitty?" She asked with a little kid voice. After a moment of contemplating it, the guards allowed her. They lifted the gate just enough so she could duck down and get the "kitty." She walked up to Solembum but when she got to him, instead of stopping, she started running. She heard the guards exchange surprised looks and chased after her, and they were _fast_. When they approached where Solembum was, he jumped up and latched himself onto one of the guards' face. The guard was now occupied with trying to detach a cat from his skull, and could pursue her no longer. The second guard, however, wore lighter armor and accessories because he was of lower rank. He was also fit and fast. Anabelle was beginning to tire and her asthma started to act up. The only asthma attacks she'd ever had were when she was swimming and started choking on water. She didn't know what would happen if she had an attack and didn't have an inhaler. She knew it was pointless but she tried to contact Evan or Eragon with her mind. No response. What a surprise? They have a week's head start and their out of range. Anabelle didn't know how she had the energy to use sarcasm while running for her life. She drove her legs towards the forest as Solembum instructed.

"_The forest. If I just get to...the forest. I'm...safe._" She told herself while breathing heavily. Her lungs were aching and protesting to the abuse, but Anabelle knew if she stopped, she would be caught. She couldn't pretend she didn't know about the stolen information now. She ran from the guards. She might as well wave a huge banner that said, 'I know what happened! Arrest me!' The lone guard pursued her and seemed to notice her breathing troubles. He jogged carefully now as if to let her run out of energy then capture her then. Suddenly, her lungs could bear it no longer and induced and asthma attack. She stopped dead in her tracks and her eyes got wide with panic. Having an asthma attack is a horrifying sensation. Your lungs just can't seem to get enough air no matter how many breaths you take. Yet, you know in the back of your mind you aren't going to die. It was like being stranded in the ocean. You know that you are in extreme danger, but you won't die...yet. The fact does nothing what-so-ever to stop you gasping for air. She turned around to see the guard walking up to her.

"Hello. I assume you are Anabelle. The Empire thinks you might have information we need." He said also slightly out of breath. She backed away from him and continued aching for oxygen. Suddenly, a person dropped from the sky beside Anabelle and the guard.

"Do you have business with my sister? Or should you just _go back to you post without saying a word?_ I think you should go back." Anabelle realized, it was _Richard_! She couldn't speak but was surprised and confused that Richard just randomly appeared out of nowhere and claimed her as his sister which she was pretty sure she wasn't.

"Why should I leave? Turning her in will make me a rich man!" The young soldier retorted while drawing his sword. Richard almost started laughing. He drew his sword and assumed a fighting stance.

"I don't think this should have to end in violence." Richard said casually.

"Really? You think you can fight me?! One of the _King's_ soldiers!?" The soldier smiled back and narrowed his eyes.

"I _know_ I will win. Galbatorix is no king of mine!" Richard shrugged off his cloak. Then the snapped open large membrane wings! They weren't like a dragon's. They were almost transparent and you could see the pale, purple veins that ran inside the folds. The soldier gasped.

"Sundiver!" Richard smiled. He had elongated canines similar to how she would picture a vampire's and his eyes were blood red.

"Not exactly. I'm a _Dragon's Fire Chaser_!" The soldier tried to gather his courage and fight the creature. Richard, before Anabelle could blink, thrust forward with his sword and knocked the soldier off his feet. The soldier stared up at Richard where the moon light could be seen through his wings. Richard was examining the soldier's sword.

"Nice design but a bit to crude for my taste. You can have it back." Richard tossed the sword at the soldier and it stuck in the ground only inches from his neck.

"Now _go_!" Richard growled and the soldier grabbed his sword and ran like fire. Richard folded his wings in and put his cloak back on.

"Are you okay?" He said with what seemed like genuine concern, but Anabelle felt dizzy and light headed. The attack had stopped but she was starting to see tunnel vision. She collapsed. Before she left consciousness she heard Richard mutter to himself,

"I take that as a 'no.'"

**Oooh! Cliff hanger! Woot! So that was the introduction of the Dragon's Fire Chasers and Sundivers as well as Richard. If you have read my Kingdom Hearts fanfiction you will remember Richard and Noah from that story. I decided to put Noah in every one of my future stories and I carried Richard's personality and sense of humor over into this story with another character I named Richard. So just stay with me on this. Thanks again for reviewing. Please continue! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Woot! I know this chapter is really late, but I tried to make it long to make up for it. Sorry. I would like to thank Hollyleaf9 and xt-219 for continuing to review! *gives cookies* Okay, here is the next chapter. It's an introduction to my other OCs (which I own) and a partial explanation of the Dragon's Fire Chasers and the Sundivers. Woot! **

**Disclaimer: I own my OCs not Eragon. **

Evan awoke with a start and hit his head on the bunk above him. He sunk back into his bed rubbing his forehead. He used magic to heal the migraine that was forming. He felt the energy rush out of him. Now he was ready to go back to sleep. It annoyed Evan how weak he still was when it came to using magic. He sighed and forced himself out of bed. Brom decided it would be best if they all split up and look for clues as to where the Seither oil was being shipped to. Feeling like he was a part of Scooby Doo, Evan set off to find "clues" although Evan already knew the answer – Helgrind, but if he sped up the timeline by telling Eragon where the oil was going, that might make the future change. In order for Evan to be a step ahead of the game, he had to keep things constant. So, while Eragon and Brom bravely scowered the city, Evan decided to take in the views and not look for clues.

Just to tell you, Dras-Leona would not be an ideal tourist site. He wandered farther into the city where it was cleaner and more prosperous. He was still cautious, but he didn't worry so much about getting mugged here as he did on the outskirts. He wandered throughout the city window-shopping and people watching. He occasionally went inside stores he thought were interesting. Evan found the stores he was drawn to be the ones that sold food. Evan was always hungry granted he was only sixteen and still growing. He was average height, but sometimes he thought he was too short for his deep voice. He was glad he was still growing. Anabelle's neck was about up to his shoulders. Anabelle was very, _very_ short. She had shared what seemed to be her life's story with him about how she had been short her whole life. However she thought that she might get taller because her shoe size kept growing. Then, in seventh grade, her feet stopped growing. She then concluded there was no hope and that she was as tall as she was going to get. Evan understood. He'd been short until recently. Although, even for a girl, Anabelle was short for a freshman. Evan could guess why Anabelle had relationship troubles. No freshman boy is going to want to date a freshman girl who could still pass for a fifth grader. Evan mentally slapped himself to get him to stop thinking about this type of thing. It would get him to start thinking of _his_ childhood and then he would start to get homesick which he had been doing more and more lately.

Evan walked back to the tavern thingy they were staying in called the Golden Globe with a package of roasted peanuts and pretzel-looking things. They were ropes of bread molded into a sort of pretzel looking shape only with a type of cinnamon on it. Evan decided to call it a schnitzel. So Evan returned to the Golden Globe and made it just in time for Brom and Eragon to walk in.

"Did you find anything?" Evan asked as he shoved another handful of peanuts in his mouth. Brom and Eragon began to recite their story of how they found the seither oil went to an old warehouse and was left there for the mystery client to pick them up. Only Brom found where they truly went – Helgrind.

"We found them. We actually found them!" Evan saw Eragon's hands clench and a look of hard revenge formed in his face.

To celebrate solving the "case", Brom took them to a bar. Evan and Eragon were a little hesitant about touching the beer that was placed in from of them.

"Drink up boys." Brom said with a slurred speech. Evan shrugged his shoulders as Eragon pulled the beer to his lips. After taking a gulp, he pushed a mug to Evan. Evan shrugged his shoulders and toasted his beer with Eragon's.

Anabelle woke up slowly. Her eyes were blurry from sleep as she wiped them with her sleeve. She remembered what happened with a start. Richard saved her, but now that she was safe, she didn't know what she could do. She pushed herself to a stand and looked around. She was somewhere in the forest. Well, she accomplished what Solembum told her to- get into the forest. Now she had to get as far away from the Empire as she could. Yeah, that was going to be a little tricky. Why was she even kidding herself?! She didn't even know _where to start_! She felt the hairs on her neck start to prick up as she felt she was being watched. She whipped around to see the boy that was always garbed in yellow, Noah. He winked as he turned and walked deeper into the forest.

"W-wait!" Anabelle started as a chilly fear of being alone in a strange wood crept over her. She followed him. It didn't seem like it would be a hard task. _Yellow_ against _green_ and _brown_ seemed easy enough to spot, but Noah just seemed to disappear when ever he turned a corner. Anabelle was then left to wander where she thought he went until he appeared again. He was leading her somewhere, that much was certain. Where, was another question that burned as hard in her mind as what happened before she passed out. She found Noah again and took off after him. She was going to get some answers! He turned a corner and he disappeared again.

"_Darn it_!" She thought to herself as she lost him again. She looked through the trees ahead and saw there was a big, rushing river. Was this where Noah was leading her? She walked toward it, pushing branches and brush out of her path. She walked out to the bank and looked around. Noah was nowhere in sight. She decided to have a drink. She was thirsty and she might as well. She bent down and starting cupping water into her hands which was a lot harder of a task then Anabelle thought it would be. The water kept slipping out between her fingers. After her third attempt at getting water she felt someone grab her shoulder. She twisted around and saw Richard! He smiled his fanged smile and Anabelle remembered what he was. She screamed and ripped out of his grip he had on her and, in the process, fell into the river.

"Are you alright?" He said extending a hand to help her up out of the water.

"Get away from me!" She said as she backed as far as she dared into the rushing water without being swept away.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to do that. I was trying to help you!" Anabelle didn't trust him for a minuet but she couldn't help but be engulfed in Richard's red irises. Only, this time they were more like an apple red that made them seem not at all menacing or odd or him. They seemed almost..._happy_. Unlike last night when they were blood red and dangerous.

"You _did _need help escaping from that guard, right?" He said. Anabelle didn't respond.

"Okay, you don't _have_ to trust me, but please get out of the water. You're going to catch hypothermia." He said as a matter-of-factly. Anabelle was freezing but she still wasn't sure if Richard was a good guy or a bad guy.

"I'm sorry I look like a monster. But it's something I can't really change. I_ promise_ I won't hurt you! Just, please, get out of the water. You're going to freeze!" He said with all sincerity. Anabelle then succumbed to the freezing water and slowly waded forward. She liked the option of a possible promise of her not being hurt and the guarantee that she would be if she stayed in the water. He gave her plenty of space as she finally was out of the water. She was shivering, but she was okay.

"H-have you s-seen two boys pass by here? One was s-strawberry blonde and the other brunette. T-they're about s-sixteen?" Anabelle stammered from the cold water.

"No. I don't think so, but they can't be far. Traveling through this valley by the river is the only way you can get from here to the other side of the Spine. I can help?" Richard offered.

"_No, Richard. You can't go with her. We have to get back to headquarters_." Anabelle heard someone boom in her mind. Only, the message was obviously not directed at her.

"Who was that?" Anabelle asked.

"Oh. You heard that? Wow. That's surprising. Not many humans can communicate with their minds. What you heard was a message made audible to everyone who could communicate with their mind. Melay didn't think you could talk with your mind." Richard explained.

"Who's Melay?" Anabelle asked as a person emerged from the woods. She was really tan with black hair in small, tight curls. Her hair was highlighted with several flowers that were braided into it. Her swampy brown eyes showed she didn't really know what to make of Anabelle. She looked about twenty one. She seemed familiar but Anabelle dismissed the idea.

"_I'm Melay. Richard, we have to go._" Melay continued talking on the mind wave radio frequency thing.

"_But I don't just want to leave her here! Can she come with us until we find the people who she was traveling with_?" Richard replied with his mind. Melay sighed and looked Anabelle over.

"D'lani? How about it?" Two other people walked out of the forest. The first was another woman. She was very lithe and was clothed in various shades of green. She had short, silky black hair that complimented her jade green slanted eyes and angled eyebrows. Her ears were pointed in a triangle and several earrings adorned it. She was an elf! Her gaze was piercing and soft at the same time. She looked at Anabelle and Anabelle couldn't help but feel subordinate to her.

"If you will allow me to search your mind and discover if you are honest, you may join us until we have traversed the valley. We are heading in the direction that you must go to find your friends." Anabelle didn't know what to say or even how to address the elf, D'lani.

"You may." Is all Anabelle could manage. She knew that they would probably forcibly search her mind if she said no. The elf nodded to the man next to her who hadn't said anything. He was dark and well muscled. His hair was shaggy and dark with two _horns _three inches tall protruding off his head. They must be other Dragon's Fire Chasers like Richard. She didn't know what to expect when someone searched her mind. She felt a presence push on her mental barrier.

"_I will try not to hurt you._" Anabelle heard a soft, elegant voice echo in her mind. Anabelle assumed it must have been the elf's. Then she felt D'lani's presence reach her and start to search. She was quick but thorough. Anabelle was taken off guard by the forceful intrusion into her mind. Whenever she put up instinctive barriers to block the elf's path through her mind, the elf would shatter them with no more regard for them then if they were a bug under her feet. Only then did it hurt Anabelle. She clenched her teeth and hoped D'lani would be done searching soon. D'lani scowered Anabelle's entire memory from her first memories to recent. When it came to when Evan, Brom, and Eragon came in she realized with a jolt that if they found out about them, they might be in danger. Anabelle put up a mental barrier.

"_Please don't search this part of my memory!_" Anabelle pleaded politely in her mind.

"_I must._" Anabelle sucked in a breath as D'lani broke through the wall she had placed. Anabelle's head coursed with pain. As soon as Anabelle recovered, she put up another barrier. She started to regret this idea. She wasn't going to let the Dragon Riders be hurt! It was something that she could _actually_ do to help them! She remembered what Brom told her about blocking people from your mind. Anabelle thought of a tree. She concentrated on its branches and the light streaming through the leaves. As D'lani approached the wall she attempted to destroy it, but something delayed it. In Anabelle's mind there was nothing but the tree. It was fall and there were several orange beautiful hues adorning it like a crown.

"S_top resisting_!" The elf commanded as she struggled against the wall. As the elf spoke, Anabelle's concentration broke and the wall was demolished. Anabelle almost cried out as pain coursed through her head threatening to make her pass out again. Anabelle had no energy to stop D'lani. She was defeated. She let the elf search her mind even quicker and finally the presence left.

"You may come with us." She said with thoughtful consideration. Anabelle nodded, now a little afraid of the elf's power. Anabelle wobbled a little, still a bit light-headed from the tug-of-war between herself and the elf. Richard steadied Anabelle and then said in her mind,

"Welcome to the Fire Chasers." Anabelle wasn't sure if that was good or not.

"Eragon, _I hate you._" Evan moaned as he rubbed his temples where his migraine was throbbing.

"Okay! I admit it! Drinking the beer was stupid." Eragon retorted in similar pain. As the boys woke, they found a note from Brom written in charcoal on the wall of the fireplace. Basically, it said that they had a day off while Brom went to the castle. Eragon decided to walk around a little while Evan couldn't force himself out of bed. When he awoke later, his headache resided to a dull throb and he was able to think clearer. He wasn't sure he could win in a battle in this state, but he was able to function. After he went and ate another schnitzel, he took one more nap. When he woke up, the sun was setting and Brom and Eragon returned. Brom said that he tried to find a way to replace the people who deliver the shipments of seither oil to Helgrind. He didn't have much luck, but he did find out that Galbatorix, the evil dictator, was coming to Dras-Leona soon. Eragon was freaked out but Evan wasn't. He knew better. That night, Evan mentally prepared himself for the next day. As Evan dreaded what would happen, he couldn't shake the icy reality that there was nothing he could do about it.

Midst her second day traveling with the Dragon's Fire Chasers, Anabelle realized she actually liked staying with them. Only it really wasn't '_staying_' because they never seemed to stop moving except to sleep, eat, and, recently, to let Anabelle catch up. The DFCs were not human, that much was certain. The odd thing was they would _openly admit to it_ too. Anabelle did not know why Dragon's Fire Chasers chased dragon's fire so relentlessly; on theory it was a _literal_ meaning. They, however, kept no secrets from each other. Whatever Anabelle asked of them, they would answer. The only aura of untrustworthiness came when she asked them about their lives _before _they joined this guild. After that, their mouths were as shut as steel traps. This fact confused Anabelle almost as much as when they would stop her from revealing any information about her past.

"Why do they do that?" She finally asked Richard. Surprisingly, Richard and she had become fast friends despite the incident at Teirm.

"Well, it's D'lani's fault actually. It's a sort of rule to prevent people in the guild from betraying the guild and other members."

"I don't understand."

"Well, think about it. D'lani's an elf and everyone knows that the elves live in a secret city in Du Weldenvarden, the great forest in the north. The only people with Melay's accent live in the west on the coast. And I think that Asterion was living in the Varden because he has great knowledge about their politics."

"Are you allied with the Varden?"

"Not exactly. We're against the Empire like they are, but they haven't treated us all buddy-buddy in the past."

"Oh."

"Now, did you notice a pattern?"

"Everyone comes from some place far from here?"

"Yes. And the only reason anyone would join the Fire Chasers, willingly abandoning their homes and all they know, would be to get away from someone or something in their past."

"Which would mean a lot of dangerous secrets?" Anabelle concluded.

"Exactly. So to keep the guild safe from whatever is chasing the members and each other, D'lani made it a rule that you can't tell _anyone_ about your past. That would eliminate betrayal because if someone turns out to be evil, they won't know who the other people around them are, so they would have no reason to attack them. But, you can't keep secrets from the rest of the guild after you join so that would eliminate plots against the guild from inside. See how ingenious D'lani is?"

"That is ingenious." Anabelle agreed. However she didn't like the fact that Richard or any of the other members could be murderers and thieves.

"So that means that, if they join the guild to get away, they all change their names?"

"Yup."

"But how did they get..._animal_-like? I find it hard to believe that they all were like that before they came into the guild."

"Oh. After you hang around D'lani for a while, you wake up one day...animalized. I don't know more then that. I think even D'lani doesn't know why that happens."

"So does that mean that if...I will...?" Anabelle shuddered.

"No. Usually it takes a few weeks for the transformation, but we'll be long gone before that." Anabelle was relieved.

"I forgot to thank you for saving me from that guard. There would have been unfathomable consequences if I had been caught." Anabelle not only held the secrets of what the Riders were doing, but she also knew them personally. She could have been used as bait to lure the Riders into a trap or they could just kill her to hurt them. Anabelle now realized she played a more important role in this game then she thought. At least she found a possible new friend who could help her.

"You're welcome." He said casually. Richard then adjusted his sword on his hip. Anabelle noticed the style of sword. It was similar to Zar'roc's shape and build but a little less special for it had no hue in the blade. But never the less, it was a Rider's sword!

"Where did you get that sword?" Anabelle asked. She was suddenly reeling with questions. Maybe he was a Rider? He certainly no ordinary person could forge a sword of that quality. Maybe he killed a Rider and took it from him!

"Oh, this?" Richard pulled the sword out of its scabbard. "This is Garsingah, or Guardian. It was a Rider's sword that we found when we raided a Sundiver camp. My most prized possession. Everyone in the Fire Chasers tries to find a weapon made by the Riders of old."

"Why? Aren't other swords just a good?"

"Not really. Earlier Dragon Rider weapons were forged either by the Riders themselves or by elves. This means they are of the finest make. The later weapons forged when the Rider's dominion started to collapse and their weapons were made to be almost indestructible because they had to fend off other Riders' weapons and be able to slice other dragons. That was a sad time. The Dragon Riders are also the Fire Chasers' role models, so to speak. Some like them because we are part something else and they were too. They were part dragon. Most like them because they believe that the Riders were the ones that kept peace and justice throughout the land in contrast to our Sundiver enemies who believe it was the Riders who brought chaos to Alagaesia." Richard talked about the Sundivers with disgust.

"I keep hearing that word. 'Sundiver,' what does it mean?" Anabelle recalled Solembum even talking about it.

"There are many rumors surrounding the evil beasts called the Sundivers. Many of the myths about them talk of beasts that are part man part animal that haunt the forests and eat humans, but little of the lore about stuff like that is true. However, they believe it anyway. So those who believe the tales of the Sundivers mistake the Dragon's Fire Chasers with them like the Teirm guard. Then they usually freak out, kind of like you." Richard said with hidden pain in his eyes. Anabelle remembered when Richard was trying to convince her to get out of the water. _'I'm sorry I look like a monster. But it's something I can't really change. I_promise_ I won't hurt you! Just, please, get out of the water. You're going to freeze!'_

"I'm sorry. I don't think you're that scary now?" She said with sincerity.

"But, when you saw my fangs and wings did you honestly think I was the good guy?" Anabelle opened her mouth to protest, but it was true. She sighed and looked at the ground, guilt sinking in.

"That's what I thought."

**Woot! I want to hug Richard! (That was probably really creepy). Anyway, I hope that was a sort of cliffhanger and not too complicated in the explanations. I also hope it wasn't too much with all the OCs. Let me know if I'm going too fast. Just an FYI: I saw the movie Eragon for the first time on Wednesday. I was appalled at how inaccurate it was too the book! I knew it was going to be inaccurate because all movies that are based off books are, but that was **_**ridiculous!**_** The only part I liked about it was how they portrayed Murtagh's character. I love how they made him happy as opposed to the angsty character he is in the book. For those of you who are all worried now, I will try to keep Murtagh as close to the book Murtagh as possible. **

**Anyway, please review and comment! Pretty please? **


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry this chapter was so late. I usually type the chapters during studyhall and because of finals I've actually been having to study during that time. However, I have some good news and some bad news. **

**The bad news: I don't know if I'll have enough time during marching band to type many more chapters. I'll see what I can do, but, for now, consider this fanfiction on hiatus until I can update it more regularly. I will try to update when I have a break, I promise! **

**The Good news: There is a really big break from marching band at the end of June and the beginning of July that I can type so I should have some time then! **

**Thank you for the support in the reviews and alerts! It's meant a lot to me! Thank you specifically xt-219 and Hollyleaf9 for reviewing my last chapter! :) Okay, on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon. I own my OC's. **

"_Get ready, Ryla. It's gonna be any minuet now_." Evan paced their rented room in the Golden Globe hotel.

"_I'm prepared, Evan. I will be ready to lift you into the sky as soon as you get here."_ Ryla said. Evan could feel confidence and nervousness coming through the invisible link that connected them. Ryla was still a few weeks shy of being three months old, but she was convinced that she could carry him. In preparation for the message to arrive, he already packed up and saddled the horses. Munching anxiously on a schnitzel, Evan waited. It came moments later.

"_The Ra'zac have found us! We have to get out of here!_" He heard Eragon shout using telepathy. Eragon had gone to explore and must have just wandered into the Ra'zac's lair. Evan was already on the horse by the time Eragon and Brom came.

"I'll deal with the guards! You two keep the gate open!" Brom yelled as the three-some galloped through the streets toward the closing gate. Eragon shouted the spell since he was better at magic and Evan supplied him with some of his energy. Both boys were a little light headed from the magic usage, but they rode for their lives. After they were passed the city, the dragons landed and their Riders jumped on.

"Stay close. I don't care if the dragons are seen!" Brom commanded as he quickly tied the horses to each other. Saphira took off with practiced quickness and, soon, Eragon was high in the sky. Ryla, mimicking the older dragon's technique, spread her topaz wings, and, with a running leap, she jumped into the air. She flapped her wings as she struggled to stay aloft. They fell several feet and Evan wasn't sure what they would do if they weren't able to fly now! Suddenly, a gust of wind blew underneath Ryla's parachute-like wings, spreading them open and giving them lift.

"_Yes! Ryla! You're flying!"_ Evan was sure to let all his happiness get through the link to Ryla. She almost purred and laughed a rough, crackly dragon laugh as they reached Saphira's altitude.

"_Now, do you understand why Anabelle couldn't come? There's no way we could have escaped with one more person."_ Evan said as a matter-of-factly. Ryla saddened.

"_Yes, I understand, but I still miss her._" Evan rolled his eyes and sighed. He would never understand girls- of any species. They finally landed in a decently concealed place, and Evan ate another schnitzel he stashed away. In mid-bite of his second schnitzel, Saphira and Ryla said they smelled something out of place. Evan hit they deck just in time before Eragon was knocked on the head by a Ra'zac. Eragon fell to the ground unconscious. Evan had never seen a Ra'zac. They were human shaped- two legs, a head, and two arms, but they certainly weren't human. They were cloaked in black capes Evan guessed to look more human. But Evan could see a beak, like a bird's, covering most of the face. Their eyes were red and piercing. Their skin was crinkly and fingers knobby. Evan concluded that they were possibly the ugliest things he had seen. The sad part was he wasn't going to give them the award just yet. He still hadn't seen _everything_ Alagaesia had to offer.

Brom started to say a spell when they sliced him with a sword. Saphira and Ryla tried to take out the Ra'zac themselves, sometimes narrowly missing them. Evan pretended to be knocked out as well. Call it an act of cowardness, but Evan knew better then to think he could take on the Ra'zac yet. One of the Ra'zac was pinned to the ground by Saphira, but the second Ra'zac held a dagger to Eragon's neck.

"If you harm ussssss, we will harm the Ridersssss." The Ra'zac's voice was dark and twisted. Saphira stopped in mid claw at the pinned Ra'zac's heart. It scudded over to stand beside the other matching foul creature.

"Good." Ra'zac 1 smirked. Behind the Ra'zac's turned backs, Evan saw a person craning their neck to be just above the tall grasses. Evan knew who it was, but the boy ducked down once Evan saw him. The Ra'zac then began to sniff. They started to communicate with confused squawks and clicks. Then Ra'zac 2 suddenly looked in Evan's direction. It ran over and hit Evan on the head. Evan's world went dark.

Evan later woke to a massive headache. He moaned and the guarding Ra'zac's attention turned to him. They smiled evilly, and the smile just kept spreading around their faces like the Grinch's. Eragon woke a few seconds later.

"Ssssso.... We're awake? My masssster hassssss sssssome anssssswerssssss he would like to get from you two."

"Great. We got captured by bad guys with lisps." Evan said sarcastically. He meant to tell Eragon through telepathy, but he couldn't find the door that let him out so it defaulted to him saying it out loud. In the amount of time it took Evan to figure this out and think "_Oh snap!!",_ the Ra'zac had grabbed his neck and chucked him into the wall across the room. Evan clenched his teeth as he could do nothing to stop himself from slamming into the wall and falling. Evan gasped as he tried to stop the room from spinning and stay conscious. He was faintly aware of the blood spilling out of his mouth. Evan could see Ryla chained to the ground not ten feet from her and neither could do anything to help one another. Evan tried to contact her, but he was puzzled when he once again couldn't find the familiar opening in his mind. He tried again and his mind worked sluggishly to recall where the telepathic door was. He tried the same with using spells, and he couldn't manage to remember the words of the ancient language! Feeling like an old man with Alzheimer's, he could only offer Ryla sympathetic eyes to reassure her. Speaking of old men, Brom was also tied and gagged in a corner. Ra'zac 2 had sauntered over to where he had thrown Evan with a triumphant air about him.

"Now, will you sssssserve my massssster?" Evan saw movement in the upper balcony of the building they were being held in. Smiling, Evan hissed,

"I will never ssssserve you, you ssssscumbagssss!" Evan mocked the Ra'zac and he hoped he spit on them when he was exaggerating the S's. The Ra'zac looked furious, but were caught off guard from punishing Evan by the sound of arrows. An arrow buried itself in Ra'zac 2's shoulder. Screaming in pain, Ra'zac 2 still dodged the barrage of arrows with inhuman agility (which was expected because they weren't human anyway). For a second, the attack ceased. The Ra'zac stood poised for another round, but, without warning, the arrow fire continued from the opposite side. The Ra'zac were not expecting this. With lightning speed reaction time, an arrow shaft _still _managed to enter Ra'zac 1's arm. With a short burst of whistles to each other that obviously sounded panicked and outraged, the Ra'zac ran for the door. On their way out Ra'zac 2 stopped momentarily to viciously kick Evan. Evan twisted to the side and the Ra'zac only hit him in the shoulder. Ra'zac 1 pulled out a nasty looking dagger and whipped it toward Eragon like a tomahawk. Brom, without warning, jumped in front of the dagger. The large knife sunk into him and he collapsed.

"NO!" Eragon screamed. Although Evan knew it was coming, he'd never seen anyone in real life _stabbed _before. He was _king _of scary movies too! He'd seen pretty much every one he could get his hands on and liked the thrill it gave when you found out that even though the zombie was on fire, _he was still alive!_ He'd seen people decapitated, ripped apart, eaten, dismembered then eaten, mutilated, crushed, suffocated, exploded, randomly combusted, and run over in movies, but he was always aware in the back of his mind that_ the movies were not real_. Brom laying on the ground bleeding profusely from the unclean dagger that protruded from his chest _was_ real. Eragon collapsed, whether from the pain from his wound or just the shock of everything, Evan didn't know. Evan was still in pain, but conscious. Evan struggled to get out of his ropes, but couldn't without causing pain to lance up his arm. He crawled over to Brom who was lying in the center of the room, and slowly pulled the dagger out from Brom's chest. Brom would probably be better off without it. He then started cutting away at the ropes. Evan tried not to think about why the dagger was soaked in blood. Once, he was free, he staggered to his feet. He couldn't help Brom. He didn't have magic. He'd have to wait until he remembered the words. After standing and wiping the blood trailing down his jaw, he started to feel faint, and he caught himself on the wall. He stood there until his head quit spinning. Evan then tried to free Ryla. Using the wall to hold him up with his good arm, Evan finally got to Ryla. He started to pull the heavy chains off when the chain accidentally fell off and hit his shoulder the Ra'zac hit. Evan cried out and fell to the floor withering, pleading the pain would stop! After he started to see tunnel vision, he didn't fight it. The sweet blanket of unconsciousness came over him and he happily agreed to follow into a place where pain cannot reach.

--

"Here is the end of the valley." Richard announced as Anabelle's eyes followed the river along the mountainside until it rushed out into a large plain. It was the same plain that Anabelle had crossed with Eragon, Evan, and Brom before only she was on the other side.

"This is where we must part ways, girl." Richard said solemnly. They called her girl because Anabelle knew that if she told them her name, they could tell the Empire where she was. It was like giving her fake name to Nathan only ten times more secretive.

"Is there a place where I can get away from the Empire?" Anabelle asked.

"You probably want to go to Surda then. It's the only place truly separated from the Empire. Follow the river south which then dumps into Leona Lake. Follow the lake until you get to the city Dras Leona. Then continue to follow the river until it leads you into Surda. The trip will take a while. We have some extra provisions you can have." Melay said simply.

"Thank you." Anabelle said trying to swallow the fear rising inside of her. She didn't want to have to run from the Empire alone, but she didn't know how to other then be alone.

"But, is there some place where I could just hide?" Anabelle said. She didn't know how else to ask the question. The Fire Chasers looked at each other.

"The Varden." Melay said. Anabelle tried to smile, but she didn't do very well.

"What about with us?" Richard asked D'lani. Melay gave him a look that said 'No way, Jose.' But Richard persisted.

"Maybe that's why Noah was following her. Because he knew that she needed to join us."

"We know too much about her." Asterion spoke for the first time in the two days Anabelle had been following the Fire Chasers. His voice rumbled but he spoke with such authority that it was almost universal among the group that what he said was law. Probably only D'lani had the guts and position to argue with him. The group instantly nodded in agreement with him. Even Richard who opposed his side nodded obediently. D'lani hesitated as if weighing the options then nodded as well. The group started to walk away, the decision being finalized.

"Good luck, girl." Richard said before the Fire Chasers disappeared into the forest leaving Anabelle to contemplate where to go, if she could go anywhere.

--

"Ouch!" Moaned Evan as he woke from being unconscious. His arm still hurt majorly.. Evan saw Ryla standing above him smiling in that dragon-way of hers.

"Finally! You're up!" Evan smiled back and slowly sat up. He saw a kid, about 18ish, that he did not recognize sitting on the floor by a fire whittling a stick. Every once in a while he would look over his shoulder at Saphira who was protectively guarding Eragon. Eragon was still out cold.

"Who are you?" Evan said. Although Evan already knew who he was, he had to pretend he didn't.

"Murtagh." The scruffy-looking boy replied. Murtagh looked exactly how Evan pictured him. Dark, messy unkempt hair, and a superiority complex.

"You were the one that drove off the Ra'zac."

"I was tracking them. If you think you're the only enemies the Ra'zac have, think again." Murtagh continued whittling.

"Well, we were_ completely_ on top of the situation anyway. You just happened to help our plan. "Evan joked. He had no intention of being friends with Murtagh at all.

"Then maybe I'll let _you_ handle it next time! So when you're _dead,_ I'll just laugh!" Murtagh retorted.

"Geeze, man! Calm down! It was _sarcasm!"_ Evan knew exactly how to make people twitch. Annoying Murtagh was no harder then annoying Devin back home. And it was equally just as fun. Evan walked over to where Brom was. The pool of blood was still wet so Evan must not have been out that long. Evan had no idea of medical stuff what-so-ever, but any bozo on the street could tell you that it was a really bad wound.

"He was drifting in and out of consciousness. He's acting feverish and slightly delirious when he is conscious. It doesn't look good for him." Murtagh explained. Evan dug in his pocket and was slightly relieved when he found a schnitzel inside. He scarfed it down and he was in a surprisingly better now. Eragon woke up and Murtagh's introduction started all over again.

"We should probably leave before the Ra'zac come back." After deciding to put Brom on a litter and carry him that way, Ryla found a good place for the four to stay. It was a naturally-made mini fortress made of sandstone. It wasn't comfortable to sit on and it seemed to snag everything, but, hey, they were safe -for now.

That night, Brom started to die. Evan didn't cry, but Eragon sure did. Brom wanted to talk to Eragon with his final breaths, and Evan completely understood. Evan walked away to give them some space.

"Why aren't you over there?" Murtagh asked.

"Eragon was closer to him then I was. Eragon knew Brom his whole life while I...just met him." Evan said as he habitually wound his finger around a longer strand of his hair that contained only a hint of red.

"_I really need to cut my hair_." He thought, trying to distract himself from Brom. He didn't think Brom's death would affect him so much, but it pulled a little harder on his heart-strings then he thought they would.

"So, is that Brom, _the_ Brom? The one who killed Morzan, Galbatorix's servant?"

"The one and only." Evan sighed.

"Evan!" Eragon shouted. Evan ran over to where Eragon was kneeling down holding to one of Brom's limp hands.

"He's gone." Evan said for Eragon who was too overcome with emotion to talk.

"He was a Rider!" Eragon managed to spit out flipping over Brom's palm and revealing the gedwey ignasia, or the Rider's Scar. Eragon seemed a combination of appalled/stupefied/distraught.

"It makes sense." Evan answered calmly. Eragon retorted all but calm.

"It makes sense? _It makes sense_!!? That's all you can say! He_ lied_ to us about who he really was this whole time! He couldn't have told us any sooner!?" Eragon fumed, tears streaming down.

"Well, he also _saved you're life_!" Evan retorted. Eragon, in emotional turmoil, glared at Evan and stomped off.

"You know just how to tick everyone off, don't you?" Murtagh watched as Eragon sunk down next to Saphira and buried his head in his knees.

"Don't forget, that includes _you_." Evan smiled evilly. Murtagh frowned.

**Woot! So there you have it. I hope it was a cliff hanger! I hope to update soon! Thank you again for reviewing! (Sorry Hollyleaf9, I don't know when they are coming out with the movie **_**Eldest.**_**) Just a little trivia, I originally spelled Melay, "Mel****é****" with an accent on the last "e" to make it have an "ay" sound, but I didn't know if people would pronounce her name right so I changed it to a phonetic spelling. I also put an 'I' with an accent on the end of D'lani's name. Her name, by the way, is pronounced (Duh-lawn-ee). Woot. Please review!!! I will try to update when I can!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, first off, I would like to apologize to my readers. I have had a major case of writer's block that came after I had to rewrite this next part in SaDbF completely. I really hope that you continue reading my story. I intend to continue it. There will probably be longer intervals between posts then before my break (1 week- 2 weeks). So, the long awaited thirteenth chapter!**

Anabelle didn't know where to go. She didn't know the terrain and had little resources. The reality of it sunk in, and she bitterly cursed herself for it- she needed other people to survive. She'd never once traveled alone the entire time she was in Alagaesia. She always had someone by her side; Evan in the beginning, then Brom, then Eragon and Saphira, then Ryla, and then recently, Richard. Even though she hadn't moved more than five feet from where the Dragon's Fire Chasers left her, she felt completely and utterly lost.

She started walking almost without knowing it toward where the mysterious half human, half creatures went. An enveloping fear surrounded her and sped up her steps as night sunk in - night alone. As she continued in a general direction, her imagination tortured her. Every shadow was a Shade just waiting to strike at her. Every rustle was an ambushing enemy ready to leap out. Her heart pounded faster as she went from a fast walk to a lively, power -walk. Her mind instinctively searched for Evan or Eragon's mental presence. After finding no trace, terror tightened its grip and she started to jog. She saw figures up ahead and relief swept over her like warm shower water. She simmered down from her jog to an even-tempered walk as she approached the Dragon's Fire Chasers. Catching her breath, she tapped the figure on the shoulder. She opened her mouth to greet Richard, but instead she came face to face with a vulture's head. Anabelle couldn't move. The vulture wasn't truly a vulture at all. It was part vulture but had distinctly human characteristics. A grotesque beak protruded from its face, but it had a human body and head.

"Hello, deary. Lost are we?" Came the voice of the vulture-person. Anabelle slowly backed away from it as her heart beat started to race inside her chest.

"Now, now, deary. Let's not be rash." The vulture hissed as it reached an arm toward her. Anabelle took another step back to keep out of the creature's rang, but its arm was grossly disproportionate to its body and was able to reach her six feet away! It grasped her shoulder and dug its nails into her. At first it was slight, but then it started to penetrate and she became fearful. She tried to back out of its grasp and then turned to pulling the hand off. The beast's grip not failing, she began to go into survival mode. Adrenaline kicked into gear and she struggled and tossed and frantically attempted to worm her way away from the approaching demon. Adding to her struggle, the imp outstretched its other arm and this time clutched the back of her head, slowly pulling her toward it.

"Get away from me!" She yelled as she dug her heels into the ground, flailing and thrashing. When the beast was within kicking range, she did so. It seemed to have no effect on this non-human. Then it lifted her up into the air so it could be face to face with her. She continued to kick and squirm.

"You possess a fighter's instinct. Whether that of a coward or not is yet to be decided and is more or less irrelevant." His enlarged, dark eyes searched Anabelle.

"You are small and weak, but that can change. How would you like to become like me!" She didn't stop writhing, but she did become confused. She was still on survival mode, but the words spoken by the vulture made her think.

"Well, it's either this: you come with me and join the Sundivers or you die because you have seen too much. You're choice." Anabelle could see her reflection in the beast eyes and she could see her own terrified expression. She didn't answer as she was completely engulfed within the vulture's irises as if they were an attempt to swallow her.

"Maybe you would like some time to think about it?" The creature smiled maliciously. It lowered her down to the ground and Anabelle was relieved. Maybe she could catch up to Richard again and they could help her get to some place safe? It released its grip on her and reached around behind it to grab something in its belt. Anabelle didn't waist this opportunity and bolted away. She ran through the woods in a zig-zag pattern that stayed off trails as much as possible. She was running on adrenaline and another asthma attack was always in the back of her mind. She couldn't hear if it was following her and she didn't care to check. She just had to get away. After running for a full five minutes, she dared to stop. She looked behind her and was relieved to not see him or any movement. She continued scanning the forest carefully. Now that it was dawn, hope seemed to have come with the sun. She smiled and turned around to get her bearings only to look straight into the face of the Vulture!

"Five days!" It hissed as Anabelle jumped back which caused her to tumble down a slope crashing into brush and other random sticks and rocks. Once Anabelle finally came to a crashing halt, she got up as fast as she could and kept running. This time she didn't dare stop until she came to a dead end in the form of a waterfall and cliff eight minutes later. She knew her body could not take any more of this torture and she, still paranoid, sat with her back against a rock to catch her breath. Her eyes frantically searched for the Vulture. She was not that naïve to think that he would just let her leave so easily. After she sat for about ten minutes with no sign of it, she began to relax only to examine her wounds. She knew that she was certainly cut up and bruised from her fall and began to tend to them when she heard a windy sound, like that of an arrow. Before her brain could process this and tell her to duck, she cried out as something struck her in the right arm. She found a small, purple dart sticking out. Anabelle hurriedly plucked it out which caused it to bleed. But once the bleeding stopped, she saw a bigger problem. Around where the dart had pierced her, was a redish bruise the size of a dime. It didn't look like any bruise she had seen before. Anabelle picked the dart back up and saw a dark liquid drip off it that wasn't her blood. Anabelle stared wide-eyed as she realized what just happened. It had poisoned her! Anabelle immediately wondered how long she had to live. Then she remembered the Vulture's words. _"Five days!" _ Five days! Five DAYS?! Anabelle began to panic.

_"Richard!!!"_ She screamed in her mind as she swept the surrounding forest looking for the Vulture. In a desperate attempt to get away once and for all from the Vulture, she shook her head of all common sense and launched herself into the air out over the waterfall. The Sundivers would never have her because if they had her, they had the Dragon Riders too. She could never let that happen. Even if it meant jumping off a waterfall. She never intended for this jump to be a suicide leap, but an act of poorly thought out desperation. As she thought this she was waiting for a bone crushing crash, but…it never came. She was slammed in the side and knocked to the shore just feet before she would have hit the water. Anabelle gritted her teeth as a new pain coursed through her, but it ebbed and she found Richard's terrified face glaring over her.

"What the FRICK were you doing!?!!!" The fanged boy panted as he hauled Anabelle to her feet.

"You know what? I don't care what you _thought_ you were doing but it was stupid!" Richard was clearly still scared that he had to just save her from falling off a waterfall.

"Uhhnn." Anabelle moaned as she felt faint from standing up too fast. Richard quickly caught her and held her up but grabbed her where her poison wound was. Anabelle flinched and quickly batted Richard's hand away. She pressed on the wound to hopefully stop the pain.

_"She has been poisoned."_ Melay's voice could be heard in Anabelle's head. Richard looked alarmed. Anabelle rolled up her sleeve to show the extent of her injury.

"A Vulture. The Sundiver." Anabelle said as she wobbled. She already felt energy draining out of her.

"A Sundiver did this? We have to bring you back to Revatel!"

_"Richard! You shouldn't even be talking to her! There's no way you would be permitted to take her to our _base_!"_ Melay said firmly.

_"But there's no other healer that would be able to cure her anywhere else!"_ Richard protested.

_"Even if that's true and our healers could cure her, she might not be able to make it there alive."_

"I have five days." Anabelle said.

"How do you know?"  
"The Vulture told me that unless I join the Sundivers, I will only have five days to live." Melay seemed to ponder this when their Elvin leader seemed to materialize out of nowhere followed by Asterion.

"Poisoned, you say?" D'lani asked as she examined Anabelle's wound.

"You're an elf. Can't you heal me?" Anabelle wasn't afraid to speak so bluntly to the elf. What could she do? She was already dying. D'lani almost laughed at her comment.

"Although I am an elf, I am unnaturally ungifted with magic. I can barely speak in the Ancient Language. However, with the combined efforts of the healers, Ashes as they are called, back at the Dragon's Fire Chasers' base, I might be able to heal you. But we will need to erase you're memory of the base afterwards. I think you understand why." D'lani seemed to be carefully picking and choosing what she revealed to Anabelle as she explained all this.

"I understand, but Melay said I won't even make it there."

"If we go fast enough we might." Richard exclaimed, his eyes filling with hope.

"I can never thank you enough, Dragon's Fire Chasers!" Anabelle shared in Richard's new found sence of hope.

"Then let's go!" Asterion seemed impatient, but willing as Anabelle was practically thrown into his arms, and the race was on.

**Woot! I am glad that this chapter came out the way it did because it cured my writer's block! *does happy dance* I don't have much of Evan's side of the story written mostly because you already know what happens to Eragon and what would be happening is them traveling through the desert which is a time-skip anyway. So I'll try to throw a filler chapter in here or there about them but most of the next part of this story will center around Anabelle. Don't worry, you will hear from Eragon and Evan soon enough. Anywho, thanks for reading and sorry, once again, for the very extended hiatus. **


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